Machakos police have opened investigations following the death of a man who was burned to death for stealing a chicken in Kenyaizrail location of Machakos county.
The man, identified only as Samuel, according to a Citizen TV reports, was caught with seven chickens stolen from his neighbour.
Daniel Masau a local resident, reportedly told Citizen TV reporters that the man is a notorious thief who specializes in robbery and disappears from the area for a while, then reappears to commit another robbery.
“The man has been stealing for years, disappearing and then coming back to terrorise residents,” the man said, according to citizen TV.
The latest victims woke up in shock Thursday when they discovered seven of their chickens missing in their backyard.
They informed the other locals and a search began, leading them to Samuel, who bagged the chicken.
Then some locals attacked him and demanded that he confess to the place where he sold the proceeds of his crime.
The man is said to have confessed but was not pardoned but burnt.
When officers arrived at the scene, the man was dead.
The body was taken to Machakos Level 4 Hospital where postmortem investigations were conducted.
Residents are being asked not to take law enforcement into their own hands.
