Three men died on Wednesday after an irate mob descended on them with blows after they snatched a handbag from a woman in the Makongeni area, Kiambu County, central Kenya.
The trio, who were on a motorbike, had attacked a woman who was going about her business at the Polysack area before escaping towards Thika town on a red getaway motorbike whose plates were missing.
The woman’s screams of distress caught motorcycle riders and a few other young men who were resting nearby.
This prompted the 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.
“As the pack approached Delta petrol station, the unexpected happened. 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,” said the Directorate of Criminal Investigations.
What followed was a beating the thugs had never experienced in their lifetime as the riders descended on them with blows and kicks, accusing them of soiling their good name by using motorbikes as their gateway means after committing the crime.
When police officers attending other emergencies arrived, the three had unfortunately been killed, their bodies set ablaze.
Police moved their charred remains to the General Kago hospital morgue to await identification by their kin.
Meanwhile, three knives belonging to the suspects, a mobile phone and personal effects robbed from the victim were recovered.
Public members have been advised not to take the law into their own hands but to hand over such suspects to the police for justice in a court of law.
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