A suspected robber was lynched by a mob in Mwingi town, Kitui County following a botched robbery at a retail shop in the town.
Two other suspects escaped unhurt even as residents launched a manhunt for them.
The killed suspect in his 20s was described by residents as a notorious burglar who alongside his gang had been terrorising businessmen in Mwingi town by breaking into their business premises at night.
The residents decried rising cases of insecurity marked by shop and home break-ins which had hit the town in the recent past. They appealed to the police to beef up security.
“The police should do their job and ensure both business people and residents are secure. We cannot have a situation whereby criminals are taking charge and making people’s lives unbearable,” said Maliti Mengi, a local businessman.
Late last year, a lecturer at Mwingi KMTC was murdered in cold blood within the town and her body decapitated.
Mwingi central OCPD Peter Mutuma assured that police would be on high alert to curb crime incidences even as he called on residents not to take the law into their own hands.
