Embu boda boda riders beat man to death over motorcycle theft
Police collect the body of a man who was beaten and set ablaze on suspicion that he had stolen a motorcycle in Kimbuthi, Embu County, on January 27, 2018. PHOTO | CHARLES WANYORO | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Boda boda operators from Embu traced a stolen motorcycle to Meru.
- They accosted a rider ferrying a passenger and took them to Embu.
- They beat up the rider to death and set his body ablaze.
A 33-year-old man was beaten and set ablaze on Saturday afternoon by angry boda boda riders who accused him of stealing a motorcycle in Kiambuthi, Embu County.
The man was tracked to Makutano area of Meru Town and he and his passenger were ferried in a van to Embu, where they were interrogated.
LYNCHED
The rider, who was only identified as Dennis, was stoned to death and his body doused in petrol, then set on fire.
According to Mr Patrick Njue, a boda boda rider, the motorcycle was stolen on Friday night but it had a tracking device that helped the operators trace it.
A group of boda boda riders set out to recover it and they found Dennis with it, ferrying a customer – Felix Kithinji, a pump attendant in Meru.
“We followed the signal since the motorcycle had a tracking device. The motorcycle owner then spotted the bike and the two were confronted. They were forced into the car and driven to Embu,” said Mr Njue.
THEFT
He said members of public started beating up the boda boda rider after listening to him and concluding that he was lying.
“There has been an increase in theft of motorcycles but it is slowly decreasing since we are dealing with it decisively,” said a witness who did not want to be named.
A shaken Mr Kithinji said he saw the rider being beaten to death and later set on fire.
“It happened so fast and we were forced into a vehicle. We were beaten up and then Dennis was set on fire,” he said, before being whisked away by police.
Police collected the body.
