Three men were killed yesterday after an enraged mob crushed them to a pulp after stealing a handbag from a woman in Thika’s Makongeni’s area, Kiambu County.
The trio on a motorbike attacked a woman going about her business in the Polysack area before fleeing to Thika town on a red getaway motorbike with no plates.
The woman’s distress screams surprised boda boda riders and a few other young men who were ‘eating root’ at a nearby ‘nduthi’ shed waiting for a squad.
As no less than 30 motorbikes flew past the busy highway baying for the trio’s blood, the boda boda riders gave chase at breakneck speed.
Pedestrians stood by the roadside, watching what appeared to be a local Grand Prix motorcycle championship as bike after bike sped past Vrr! Vrrrr! Vrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr … with their engines grumbling resentfully as the riders who seemed unconcerned about the cost of gasoline pushed them to their limits.
The unexpected happened as the group approached the Delta gas station. A matatu, speeding down the Kambiti and Kangocho valleys towards Sagana like the legendary Riakanau bus, appeared out of nowhere. And as the bike swerved to avoid a head-on collision, its rider lost control, and the trio landed with a thud on the tarmac!
The thugs were subjected to a beating unlike any they had ever known, as boda boda riders descended on them with blows and kicks, accusing them of tarnishing their good name by using motorbikes as a means of transportation after committing crime. Atia mutukuaga! The angry nduthi men mocked the three miscreants.
By the time police officers on other calls arrived, the three had been crushed like cocoyam leaves in preparation for the ebunu ebunu delicacy and their bodies had been set ablaze.
Their charred remains were transferred to the General Kago hospital morgue to await identification by family members. Meanwhile, the suspects’ three knives, a mobile phone, and personal effects stolen from the victim were recovered.
The public is advised not to take the law into their own hands, but rather to turn such suspects over to police for justice in a court of law.
