Detectives camped in a Kisii village where five family members were killed by a mob over claims of murder amid resistance from locals.
Tuesday marked the fifth
day since the five family members were murdered in Metembe village, Masimba
Ward in Kisii County and no arrest has been made so far.
Detectives handling the matter stated that there was a lack of cooperation and resistance from locals.
The team said the
villagers claimed the assailants had been hired.
Detectives handling the
April 17, 2025, incident say the villagers are uncooperative and blaming
outsiders for the deaths and destruction.
An autopsy is planned on the bodies of the five to determine how they died.
This will also form the
basis of the probe.
During the incident, the attackers also torched six houses after the murder of the family members.
The attackers suspected the family of being involved in the murder of a middle-aged man who was found dead a month ago in the area.
Among the victims were the father and mother of the family.
Two other family members
managed to escape the attack.
The locals have explained that two members of the family had been accused of the murder, arrested, but later
released.
This is after the Office
of the Director of Public Prosecutions said there was no evidence to link the
two to the murder.
Police said this sowed
hatred towards the family among locals until April 17, when they were attacked
and accused of the murder.
Detectives have
questioned local administrators to know how the planning was done
and the murder committed without their knowledge.
Officials say even the
administrators fear being targeted by the same gang behind the murder.
This is after, on April
18, another mob descended on the remains of the burnt houses and flattened them, saying they did not want the family in the area.
“It is shocking that the
mob went back and flattened structures at the family, terming them criminals. We
hope to get all those involved,” said an official who was aware of the probe.
The official said they do not know what will happen next in terms of the planned burial events of the five, given the resistance from some locals.
Kisii County police commander Ronald Kirui said they are investigating the incident.
He termed mob lynching as criminal and added that officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations are pursuing the attackers.
“A team is investigating the murder, and we hope to make a breakthrough soon,” the official said.
The bodies of the five victims were taken to the mortuary at Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital pending autopsy and probe.
Kirui said a team was also investigating the earlier murder of a man that prompted the latest incident.
