A suspected scrap metal thief has been lynched in Yatta, Machakos County.
The 47-year-old man died on the spot after he was subjected to mob injustice in Kamuu village in the Katulani sublocation in the Yatta subcounty on Wednesday.
The incident was reported to Matuu police station as a mob injustice incident that reportedly occurred at 3 am.
“It was reported today at 4 am by a local administrator that he had received a call from a village manager that one, only known by the name Karosta, had been subjected to mob injustice by villagers on allegations of theft of some pieces of wood from a fence and his body burnt beyond recognition at Kamuu village in Katulani sublocation,” a police report seen by the Star reads in part.
Police officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, Yatta, and Matuu police stations rushed to the scene and found the body lying beside the road within the said market.
They removed the body to Matuu Level 4 hospital mortuary awaiting an autopsy.
Other sources claimed that hungry villagers lynched the man after he was found carrying some metals on his shoulder.
Police said the deceased hailed from Kitui County but were staying at Kanyonyoo Market, where he had relocated to from Kivandini Market in Yatta subcounty before his demise.
Police have launched investigations into the incident.