Five members of a single family were killed in a brutal mob attack on the night of Thursday, April 17, in Metembe village, Masimba ward, Kisii county, Kenya.
Also, six houses were torched in Kisii over murder claims.
The victims—among them the family’s father and mother—were accused by enraged villagers of having a hand in the murder of a middle-aged man whose body was discovered a month ago under mysterious circumstances.
According to police reports, four of the victims were burned alive when the angry mob descended on their homestead, torching six houses in the process.
A fifth victim was hacked to death while attempting to escape.
Two other family members managed to flee the chaos and are believed to be in hiding.
Confirming the incident, South Masaba Deputy County Commissioner Jane Manene said detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) have since taken over the case and launched a formal probe into the killings.
Kisii County Police Commander Ronald Kirui, who also weighed in, condemned the lynching, terming it a criminal act that must be met with the full force of the law.
Kirui further noted that a team of detectives is actively pursuing leads, including the identities of those who orchestrated the mob attack.
He warned residents against taking the law into their own hands.
The bodies of the five victims were transferred to Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital morgue, where autopsies will be conducted as part of the ongoing investigation.
Police officers arrived at the scene Friday morning to assess the damage and collect forensic evidence from the charred remains of the family’s homestead.
Authorities also confirmed they are reopening investigations into the earlier murder that sparked Thursday’s violent retaliation.
Preliminary findings suggest that some members of the lynched family may have been falsely linked to the earlier killing, raising concerns about possible miscarriages of justice driven by mob fury.
Eyewitnesses claimed some villagers involved in the attack had fled the area upon learning that detectives were on the ground.
