Two men were on Tuesday night lynched in separate incidents in Nakuru County over livestock theft.
In the first case, 43-year-old Antony Cheruiyot was lynched by an angry mob in Mau-Summit amid allegations he stole a number of sheep and enclosed them in his homestead.
Police said the angry mob stormed in at around 10 p.m. and descended on him. Officers who went to intervene recovered a Bereta pistol from the suspect.
Cheruiyot is believed to be a habitual offender and had a pending court case at the Molo Law courts, where he had been accused of a similar offence after being found in possession of 11 stolen sheep on April 29. He was out on bond.
In the other incident two hours later, one suspect whom police did not immediately identify was burnt beyond recognition while his accomplice escaped with life-threatening injuries.
An irate mob descended on the pair for allegedly stealing two cows a few kilometres from the scene of the initial incident.
“Police officers from Sirikwa police station rushed to the scene after getting wind of the incident, only to find the charred remains of the suspect,” detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations said in a statement on Wednesday.
The stolen livestock was recovered and handed back to the owner. Police said a manhunt for the suspect who escaped is ongoing.
