Man, 22, lynched on suspicion of practicing witchcraft

A 22-year-old man was on Monday night lynched by residents in Nthagaiya Village in Embu County on suspicion of practicing witchcraft.

The deceased is alleged to have been practicing witchcraft that led to death of other villagers, even though some residents disputed the claim and decried the violent lynching.

Mugendi Nthua met his untimely death after irate residents stormed and set his house ablaze over alleged witchcraft.

Confirming the incident, Runyenjes OCPD Njoroge Mbugua said unknown men took the law into their hands by breaking into the house of Mugendi, killing him in the process.

However, Nthua’s friends and siblings defended the deceased saying Mugendi was a good man and the witchcraft accusations were false.

The body of the deceased was moved to the Runyenjes Hospital mortuary as investigations kick off to unearth the perpetrators of the brutal murder, who the OCPD says will be brought to book.

The incident comes just six days after the county government of Mombasa embarked on a unique exercise of clamping down on suspected witchdoctors and alleged fake traditional healers in the county.

Last Friday, five men were sentenced to death by the Nakuru High Court for the murder of an elderly woman who was suspected of engaging in witchcraft.

The five were accused of assaulting and causing the death of Ann Wanjiku on 5th of June 2010 at Kisumu Ndogo in Nyandarua County.

In her judgment, Justice Maureen Odero ruled that the prosecution proved that the accused persons assaulted the deceased, leading to her death.

Justice Odero told the five convicts that they should have entrusted the matter to the police instead of taking the law into their hands.

“In any event, they could have taken her to a police station instead of taking the matter into their own hands. The injuries inflicted on the deceased are evidence of forethought,” the court ruled.

The five men have been given 14 days to appeal the verdict, should they have any dispute with the ruling.

Practicing witchcraft is illegal in Kenya. According to CAP 67, also known as the Witchcraft Act, a person who is found guilty of practicing witchcraft can be jailed for up to five years.

Should one use witchcraft to harm others, they can receive a jail sentence of up to 10 years.