Police recue suspected phone thieves from angry mob
City residents gather around two suspected phone thieves along Kenyatta Avenue in Nairobi on March 17, 2020. Police rescued the two from lynching by an angry mob. PHOTO | MARY WAMBUI | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- The angry mob claimed that the two had come from other parts of the city, purposely to steal.
- Mr Muliro said he decided to call police to intervene when he saw someone light a match stick.
Police on Tuesday afternoon rescued two suspected thieves from lynching by an angry mob along Kenyatta Avenue in Nairobi.
Witnesses said the two suspects were about to be lynched for snatching a cell phone from a pedestrian when the officers stepped in.
Mr Davis Muliro, an eye witness, told journalists that the two were riding a motorcycle when they approached the pedestrian, snatched his phone and started fleeing.
“A driver who saw them sped towards them and slightly hit the rear tyre of the motorcycle, forcing them to fall. Onlookers, who included boda-boda riders, then pounced and started battering them,” said Mr Muliro.
ROBBERY MISSION
The angry mob claimed the two had come from other parts of the city, purposely to steal from innocent pedestrians.
Mr Muliro said he decided to call police to intervene when he saw someone light a match stick ready to torch the suspects.
Police arrived a few moments later, rescued the suspects and dispersed the mob by shooting in the air and lobbying tear gas.
The two suspects were later taken to hospital in an ambulance.
