Two suspected thieves were Friday afternoon lynched by the public at Pangani shopping center in Nairobi.
The two who were on a motorbike are said to have snatched a mobile phone from a passerby around the center near a Petro filling station.
Their attempts to flee after committing the crime were, however, thwarted by the residents who with the help of bodaboda riders at the center cornered them.
They were beaten up before being set on fire.
Police who responded to an alarm by one of the residents found the lifeless bodies that were burnt beyond recognition at the scene.
The motorcycle which had no registration number was also set ablaze during the 1 pm incident.
“The public joined hands with police officers and helped put out the fire,” reads a report.
Detectives from Starehe police station have since launched the probe to establish if the two were part of a gang that has been engaged in robbery in the area.
Bodies of the deceased were moved to the City mortuary.
A month ago, police in Nairobi warned of a new emerging crime trend of crimes in various parts of the City.
Some of the gangs which had earlier crushed, it said, had re-emerged after the end of the political season and are now targeting residents for money for their survival.
