A suspect was lynched inside a police station in Kenya for allegedly stealing a cow. Angry residents of Kinangop, in Nyandarua County, stormed the Githabai Police Station on Saturday night around 10 pm, dragged the suspect out, and stoned him to death.
Eyewitnesses reported that the residents were dissatisfied with how the police were handling the case after the suspect’s arrest and detention.
Residents protested within the constituency to express dissatisfaction. Thereafter, they forcibly entered the police station, removed the suspect, and killed him after overpowering the police officers on duty.
“He was arrested and brought to the police station where he was placed in custody. Some irate residents demanded the suspect be handed to them but the police refused. That was when the residents took matters into their own hands and broke into the police station, took the suspect out, and beat him to death,” a resident detailed.
Farmers in the area had complained about the disappearance of over 300 heads of cattle since December last year.
Reports suggest that upon learning of police involvement, residents demanded immediate resignations.
This incident follows another in mid-March, where residents of Kikopey, Gilgil, Nakuru County, torched the Kikopey Police Station, protesting the death of a suspect in police custody.
The residents marched to the police station after allegedly receiving an autopsy report stating that the suspect died from strangulation. They strongly believed that the suspect was involved in a love triangle with a lady said to be in a relationship with a police officer working at the station.
