Police were forced to engage irate residents of Mwea-East Sub-County, Kirinyaga, who dumped the body of a murdered 16-year-old outside the home of her suspected murderer.
In what turned into a chaotic day, residents of Mahigaini and Ngucue villages took matters into their own hands, storming the homes of two men accused of murdering the girl identified as Purity Makena.
The angry villagers took to the street to vent their anger over the death of Makena, whose body was discovered near Thiba River in Mwea-West Sub-County on Christmas Eve.
Makena’s body was discovered dumped in a coffee farm near her home after she went missing. She was found with blood oozing from her ears, no innerwear, and with signs of rape.
Screengrabs of irate Kirinyaga residents protesting.
Photo
Citizen Tv
According to reports, the residents marched through the villages with the body of the deceased and dumped Makena’s body at the doorstep of one of the suspects’ homes, accusing them of the crime.
The residents were outraged by suspicions that one of the suspects was gay and blamed him for other deaths in the community. “We want them out of this village,” stated local resident Paul Migwi.
He added, “He has been practising LGBTQ, and several people have died because of it.”
As police officers from Wang’uru Police Station and Assistant Chief George Mungai attempted to intervene, chaos erupted.
According to Makena’s aunt, Susan Muthoni, the deceased was involved with one of the suspects, who, until recently, was unaware of the man’s sexual orientation.
“I called the boy over an incident, and both he and his boss admitted to the relationship. We suspect this is why they killed her after she caught them,” Muthoni told the media.
Police efforts to disrupt the procession failed, with the irate residents disrupting the activities in the area. The officers used tear gas to disperse the crowd, and the destruction of the suspects’ property continued unabated.
Assistant Chief George Maina confirmed that, despite the chaos, the suspects’ families managed to leave the village without injury, although their property was destroyed.
“The family relocated to Rogoi village in Murinduko Ward, but they were attacked along the way in Ngucue village, where some of their belongings were set on fire,” Maina reported.
Makena was laid to rest in Ngucue village later that afternoon.
Mwea-West Sub-County Police Commander Rashid Ali confirmed the arrest of the two suspects, stating that they were from the Sub-County but had dumped Purity’s body in Mwea-West.
A police car at a crime scene in Kenya.
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NPS