Mob justice: Njoro residents beat ex-convict to death, badly injure murder suspect

Two residents in Piave, Njoro, have been subjected to mob justice, leaving one dead and another in critical condition.

According to a resident, Morris (not his real name), who spoke on condition of anonymity, one of the two is an ex-convict who has been on the radar of police and community members, after he allegedly sexually assaulted his 15-year-old nephew on Sunday, October 26, 2025.

Morris notes that the man had been hiding at their home. However, community members had been monitoring his movements and decided to attack the home this morning.

“Community members came together and stormed the home at 12 am. They caught the man by surprise and subjected him to interrogation because he was believed to be linked to another murder in Piave. After a three-hour interrogation by community members, he named a second person who he said had sent him to kill 40-year-old Mercy Wambui,” Morris says, adding the man had served a 16 years sentencing and had only been back in the community for four months.

Mtaa Wangu featured the murder of Mercy Wambui on August 20. Wambui had been murdered on Sunday, August 10, and her body was recovered from River Ndarugu three days later, on Wednesday, August 13.

Morris notes that at around 3 am, community members proceeded to the second man’s home, who he says goes by the name Maina.

It was at this place that the community members struggled to get Maina out of his home because he refused to engage in dialogue.

“Maina had barred his door with chairs and household items to prevent people from accessing him. However, after much struggle, he was caught and taken to the place where the ex-convict was,” he narrates.

Morris says the ex-convict had confessed to being hired by Maina to intercept Wambui on her way home and bring her to Maina, who would be waiting at the banks of River Ndarugu. 

Morris says according to community members Maina and Wambui were lovers and the ex- convict never mentioned why Maina targeted her.

According to the story published by Mtaa Wangu on August 20, postmortem results revealed that Wambui had been sexually assaulted, stabbed on the chin, and had five ribs broken.

In a previous interview, Wambui’s aunt, Miriam Wanjiru, said, “The report also confirmed she was strangled. When her body was pulled from the water, her face was so damaged that we could only identify her by her clothes.”

In a phone interview, Njoro Sub-County Police Commander Stanley Koech confirmed that indeed the ex-convict had been subjected to mob justice and killed.

“We are working on the scene. One is dead while the other was rescued by police as he was being subjected to mob justice and rushed to Njoro Sub-County Hospital,” Koech says.

Asked if the second victim is a person of interest to police, Koech says that they want to work from the scene backwards to the hospital.

More updates to follow in subsequent stories.