Boda boda riders strike again, this time in Embu where police deny they overran station

A young man implicated in the recent murder of boda boda operators in Embu was on Monday, March 29, killed in yet another lawless incident by the unruly riders.

Initial but unconfirmed reports indicated that this was after tens of boda boda operators overran Kibugu police station and broke into cells before whisking away the suspect.

But Embu County Police Commander Daniel Rukunga refuted the reports, saying the suspect was arrested by residents at around 12 pm after he was found with a motorbike that had been stolen from a man identified as Titus Njiru within Kithimu area at around 8 am.

Further, the police boss noted that when the boda boda operators from Dallas in Embu heard of the arrest, they quickly moved to Kibugu and whisked the suspect away from the residents and took him to Embu town where they killed him.

Rukungu urged residents to stop taking the law into their own hands but rather arrest the suspects and inform the police.

He also called on residents to work closely with police by alerting them of suspicious individuals.

Rukunga said the body was taken to Embu Level V Hospital mortuary, adding that police were pursuing those involved in the incident.

The incident temporarily paralyzed activities in Embu town as hundreds of curious onlookers were drawn by the commotion as the boda boda operators vented their anger on the suspect.

Last week, two boda boda operators who were operating in Dallas were killed and their bodies dumped at Kamiu, 3km from Embu town by the attackers who took off with their motorcycles.

Following that incident, their colleagues vowed to take the law into their hands as they blamed the police for laxity.