Police are investigating the lynching of two brothers by a mob accused of being part of a gang terrorizing residents and stealing livestock in Gategi village in Embu County.
The residents set upon the two with machetes and clubs, killing them on the spot before they doused the bodies in petrol and set them on fire.
The two were burnt beyond recognition and their motorcycle was destroyed at 2 am.
The two men hailed from Kiamanyeki village Kirinyaga County.
Mwea Sub-County police boss Emmanuel Kiplang’at said they had deployed detectives to establish the motive behind their killing.
“This case will be thoroughly investigated because sometimes innocent people have been eliminated,” said Kiplang’at.
The two men were accused by residents to be a gang that stole livestock and terrorized them.
The sub-county police boss the incident happened after two teachers were attacked as they returned home after attending a night party.
Kiamanyeki village residents said the two brothers might have been mistaken to be criminals.
“The two men had traveled to Gatawa in Mbeere to clear the balance of payment for a piece of land they had bought when they met their death. The young men were good people,” said Joseph Mwangi, a village elder.
Makima Senior Chief Charles Ngari said the brothers were attacked and killed after they failed to identify themselves.
Cases of mob lynching are on the rise in the area.
