Two suspected thugs on motorbike beaten by angry mob after snatching phone in Kilimani

Two suspects were on Saturday nabbed while attempting to steal a mobile phone from a woman near Astrol Petrol Station on Lenana Road in Nairobi’s Kilimani area.

The duo, who were on a motorcycle, were intercepted by residents and boda boda riders who surrounded and descended on them with blows and kicks before Kilimani Police Station officers arrived on scene and rescued them. 

Witnesses, who claimed to recognize them from a similar past theft incident, said the suspects had snatched the phone but as they attempted to flee, a boda boda rider threw a log of wood on their path, causing them to fall.

They were swiftly surrounded by the crowd that was baying for their blood, owing to a rise in theft cases in the area associated with them.

Shouts of, "Mmetuzoea sana...kila siku ni masimu za watu..." rang out from different quarters of the crowd, expressing the community's frustration.

Police officers from the nearby station rushed to the scene and promptly took the two petty offenders into custody despite the charged crowd’s demands for mob justice.

At the police station, the suspects were detained as the woman whose phone had been stolen was able to record a statement.