A man who allegedly attempted to steal from a homestead in Diani was given a beating of his life by villagers to a near stupor after he was caught in the act.
A video posted online by former radio presenter cum-content creator Andrew Kibe shows the man being tied to a tree next to a residential apartment before a mob went into a haphazard whipping frenzy.
The man is heard screaming in vernacular moments into the action whilst beckoning to the enraged mob, seemingly begging for mercy.
According to Kibe, the mob wanted to lynch the suspect but changed their mind after elders intervened and advised that they discipline him instead.
“Dealing with thieves village style. The guy was caught by my caretaker stealing at the neighbours’. The young men wanted to lynch him, but the wazees intervened and instead decided on teaching him a lesson the old fashion way,” Kibe captioned the video.
The whipping appeared so severe that the suspect went into a daze, shut up, and stopped struggling, prompting one of the men to intervene and stop the young men from continuing the whipping.
The act attracted varied reactions from X users, with some criticising the course of action while others welcomed it as “a peaceful public participation.”
“He faced it rough as it should be, don't always mess up with the villagers, they will teach you a lesson,” one said.
“Why not take him to court, primitivism? Those people need correctional institutions, maybe he was stealing to feed his family,” added another user.
It should be noted that mob injustice is a crime punishable by law.
Kenyans are encouraged at all times, upon effecting citizen arrest, to hand suspects over to the authorities for them to be taken through the justice system.
Section 21 of the Penal Code provides that: “When two or more persons form a common intention to prosecute an unlawful purpose in conjunction with one another, and in the prosecution of such purpose an offence is committed of such a nature that its commission was a probable consequence of the prosecution of such purpose, each of them is deemed to have committed the offence.”
As such, individuals outside the court of law who decide to declare the guilt of a suspect are breaking the law and the Constitution.
What is commonly referred to as “mob justice” is actually a great “mob injustice” to the suspect.
