Mob kills church pastor over stock theft in Vihiga County
By Enock Amukhale, February 20, 2026A man has been lynched by a mob in Ebwiranyi village, Luanda sub-county, in Vihiga county.
Pius Atingo was cornered on Friday, February 20, 2026, by the mob after he was found in possession of a stolen cow.
According to the residents, the man was among a group of criminals terrorising residents in the area and stealing livestock.
It is said the suspect, together with his accomplices, who are still at large, stole two cows from the neighbouring Kisumu County.
The owners of the stolen cows mobilised the villagers who traced their livestock upto the suspect’s compound.
They managed to recover one cow.
Area assistant chief Peter Achila, who confirmed the incident, said the mob descended on the suspect, killing him on the spot.
The mob tied the suspect and dragged him 100 metres away from his home using the stolen cow, where they lynched him.
“We have an incident that happened in my Ebwiranyi area. A man identified as Pius Atingo was lynched by an angry mob after he was suspected of having stolen their livestock. One stolen cow was recovered from the suspect,” said the assistant chief.
Interestingly, the suspect is a church pastor. Residents say that before he died, he admitted to killing a hawker at Luanda market three days ago by strangling him to death.
He also revealed his accomplices in crime, who are being hunted.
Police from Ekwanda police station arrived at the scene and took the body to the mortuary.
The incident comes a few days after members of the public lynched two robbery suspects in Vihiga County.
The suspects are said to belong to the dreaded gang suspected to be behind the wave of criminal activities in Vihiga County.
The suspects are said to belong to the dreaded ‘Rambo family’ and the ‘Mavisu ni Sisi’ gang group.