Police in Makueni are investigating an incident in which a mad man was set on fire after snatching a gun from a police officer. A chaotic scene unfolded in Emali Town, Makueni County, after a man believed to be mentally unstable attacked a police officer and snatched his firearm. The incident occurred when the officer, stationed at Kwetu Sacco Police Station, was making a phone call. The assailant struck the officer before seizing his gun.
Local witnesses reported that the man fired aimlessly into the air as he fled as the bodaboda riders who got alarmed by the commotion gave chase. The injured police officer, bleeding profusely from a head wound, informed the riders that the gun only had two bullets. Armed with this knowledge, they pursued the mad man.
After exhausting the bullets, the mad man sought temporary refuge in a residential area where he was apprehended by the bodaboda riders. The locals then wrestled him to the ground, seized the firearm, and, in a retaliatory act, lynched and set him on fire. The officer was quickly rushed to a nearby health facility, where medics later confirmed he had been stabilized.
The body of the suspect was taken to the mortuary, while police launched investigations into the event. Authorities have yet to issue a formal statement regarding the attack or the actions taken by the locals in response to the gun-snatching incident.
Kenyans took to social media to respond to the incident with many people expressing mixed reactions. While some Kenyans condemned the locals for killing a mentally ill individual, arguing that he should have been taken to the hospital for psychiatric evaluation, others supported the mob’s actions, citing the potential danger the man posed after seizing the officer’s gun. Here are some of the reactions from social media users.
By Newshub