A middle-aged man from Kirinyaga County was beaten to death, and his body was set on fire for allegedly stealing nduma, worth Ksh.500.

The suspect, identified as 35-year-old Muriithi Muchiri, was fatally beaten after being discovered in possession of the arrow roots, hidden in a sack several kilometers from the suspected theft scene.

PHOTO | COURTESY police car

Villagers allege the suspect is a repeat criminal and was reportedly in the process of transporting the stolen veggies to the Kibingoti market for sale when the crowd confronted him.

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"Villagers had been guarding their arrowroots but they have never saw the suspect who has been stealing the arrowroots but today he was caught red-handed," said Peter Ng'ang'a.

Confirming the event, Kirinyaga West sub-county Police Commander Moses Koskei warned villagers not to resort to vigilante justice.

"We are urging locals to stop taking the law into their own hands. Even if they have been stealing, we shouldn't harm,” Koskei said.

The deceased's body has already been transferred to the Karatina hospital mortuary for post-mortem.