A man is fighting for his life at Bungoma County referral hospital, Western Kenya, following a botched robbery mission on Wednesday morning.
The man, whose identity is still unknown, had crept into the house of one Zipporah Masika as she prepared to go for her morning shower.
Zipporah had just boiled her bathing water and was carrying it in a basin to the bathroom when she came face to face with the thug carrying her mobile phone and other valuables after ransacking her house.
Suddenly, the thug attempted to push her aside and escape, but it was too late as she splashed the whole basin of hot water on his face and fled towards the main door screaming for help.
“As the hunter ironically became the hunted, the thug wailed from the excruciating pain of a scalded face, equally attracting neighbours from nearby households, who responded in their numbers,” said the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).
Upon learning what had transpired, the neighbours descended on him with an avalanche of blows and kicks.
Pleas by the thug to be forgiven fell on deaf ears as the angry neighbours beat him, disfiguring his burnt face and inflicting deep cuts on his head.
By the time police officers arrived, the man had been smashed to a bloody pulp by the angry villagers who had had enough of such characters in the village.
The officers rushed him to Bungoma county referral hospital, where he is currently fighting for his life.
Public members have been advised not to take the law into their own hands in such circumstances but alert police officers for the suspects to be accorded a fair opportunity in a court of law.
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