Three men lost their lives Wednesday evening after an irate mob descended on them with stones and sticks after they snatched a handbag from a woman in Thika’s Makongeni area, Kiambu County.
There has been an increase in cases of mob lynching in the country amid calls to address the menace.
Police say mob lynching is criminal and want those arrested to be surrendered to authorities for processing.
In the latest incident, the trio who were on a motorbike had attacked a woman who was going about her business in the
Polysack area before escaping towards Thika town on a red getaway motorbike whose plates were missing.
The woman’s screams of distress caught boda boda riders and a few other young men in the area.
Police said this prompted the boda boda riders to give chase after the bike at breakneck speed, as no less than 30 motorbikes flew past the busy highway baying for the trio’s blood.
Pedestrians stood by the roadside watching what seemed like the local version of a Grand Prix motorcycle championship as bike after another sped past as the riders who seemed unperturbed by the cost of gasoline pushed them to their limits.
As the pack approached Delta petrol station, the unexpected happened.
A witness said a matatu that was speeding suddenly appeared.
And as the bike swerved to avoid a head-on collision, its rider lost control and the trio crushed on the tarmac with a thud giving those baying for their blood a chance to strike.
By the time police officers who were attending to other emergencies arrived, the three had unfortunately been killed.
Police moved their charred remains to the General Kago hospital morgue to await identification by their kin.
Members of the public are advised not to take the law into their hands but hand over suspects to the police for justice in a court of law, police said.
Meanwhile, three knives belonging to the suspects, a mobile phone, and personal effects robbed from the victim were recovered.