A police car that was burnt during the attack. at Chemase Police Post. HANDOUT
There was a tragedy at a police station in Nandi County when a mob stormed there and flushed out a murder suspect before stoning him to death.
The mob also set on fire the body, went back to the Chemase Police Post station and vandalized it before setting it on fire.
Police said a murder suspect had been arrested and detained at the police post on January 1 after a dismembered body was discovered on the roadside and the head in a borehole.
This was after the suspect, now deceased blew the cover of the murder after he threatened to attack and kill his mother on January 2.
He said he would kill her and his family members the same way he did to the murdered man.
Police said the mother alerted local officials who moved to arrest the suspect who later confessed to the murder of the 38-year-old man identified as Enock-Kipsang.
According to Tinderet Police Commander Johnson Mwariga, the suspect confessed to having committed the crime and even escorted investigating officers to where he had reportedly hidden the victim’s head and other body parts.
The incident angered over 3,000 area residents, prompting them to storm the police station demanding the release of the suspect into their custody.
When the officers declined to heed their demands, they went on a rampage and burned down a police vehicle before overpowering the cops and making their way into the cells where they accosted the murder suspect.
“After getting the suspect, they stoned him to death and burned his dead body. They then dispersed in different directions,” police said.
Police had earlier on visited the borehole where the head of Kipsang had been dumped but it was late and dark and there was water hindering operations.
The team decided to embark on the exercise the next day on Thursday.
A generator was brought and emptied the water enabling the team to recover a fresh human head believed to be belonging to the victim.
At that moment, approximately 3,000 individuals gathered at the Chemase Police post, becoming unruly as they shouted and hurled stones at the officers.
The officers were overpowered and took cover before the mob set the police car on fire, lowered the police station flag and the national flag and burnt them down.
During the incident, three police officers were injured while the mob stole the station VHF radio set, a monitor printer, a computer printer, a CPU, an Occurance Book, station files and a wooden table and chair.
Police said on Friday, investigations and operations to arrest the suspects are ongoing.
The remains of the suspect were moved to a local mortuary together with the earlier victim.
Police said they are yet to establish the motive of the earlier murder.
The National Police Service (NPS) has since come out to condemn the incident, cautioning members of the public against taking the law into their own hands.
“Following the attack at the Chemase Police Post, we are appealing to the members of the public to refrain from taking the law in their hands and let the law take its cause once a suspect has been arrested,” said NPS spokesperson Dr. Resila Onyango.
“The destruction of police property as was witnessed at Chemase Police Post where a police vehicle was burnt down yesterday by irate members of public only hampers police efficiency in offering the much-needed services to members of the public. In the spirit of community policing, we urge the members of public to cooperate with police to enhance security within our areas.”
Such incidents of mob lynching have been on the rise amid calls to address the trend.
Police term mob lynching criminal.
