A section of residents of Namakhele village in Kabuchai, Bungoma county who participated in the lynching of suspected serial killer Masten Wanjala say the deceased was seen loitering in his home area more than a week ago.
In an exclusive video footage seen by K24 Digital, one of the residents said he saw Wanjala twice, in a pub and at a night vigil in a funeral around his home.
“I saw Masten in a bar and told my friend who did not believe me. The second time, I saw him leaving a home where there was a funeral,” a bodaboda operator in the area said.
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The bodaboda operator, who was also part of the mob, further stated that Wanjala was casually walking without any fear when he spotted him.
Another resident further stated that Wanjala was also spotted at his grandmother’s homestead in Namakhele, Bungoma county where he allegedly ate supper and spent the night.
“His grandmother was very shocked to see him. In fact, she even gave Masten Ksh800 and prepared supper for him,” the resident alleged.
The residents further questioned how Wanjala managed to escape from police custody before making his way to his home in Bungoma.
“It is still unclear how he managed to escape from police cells, change into civilian clothing, and travelled from Nairobi to Bungoma. In fact, where did he get the bus fare?” One of the residents paused.
Speaking to K24 Digital, the man who grabbed Wanjala from his hiding place said the suspected serial killer run to his father’s house after he was spotted on Friday morning and hid under logs of timber stored inside one of the rooms.
“When he many people gathering, he ran to a house and locked himself inside the house. We managed to get inside through a bathroom window and searched the rooms before finding him in the store,” the man said, adding that Wanjala was too shaken to speak coherently.
“He tried to speak but I grabbed him and threw him out of the house where the mob of angry youths lay in wait,” he added.
However, speaking to K24 Digital, Bungoma South OCPD Opondo Busolo said police were not aware of Wanjala’s presence in the area adding that investigations are underway to establish the identity of the lynched man who is said to be Wanjala.
“We are in the process of taking fingerprints of the deceased to confirm whether it was Wanjala who was lynched,” Busolo said.
Bungoma Assistant County Commissioner Cornelius Nyaribai confirmed that an irate mob flushed Wanjala from his hideout before clobbering him to death.
The police had launched a manhunt for the self-confessed serial killer after he escaped from custody at the Jogoo Road Police Station.
Wanjala was arrested in July 2021 in connection to the gruesome murder of minors in Nairobi and Bungoma.
Soon after his arrest, he led police officers to more murder scenes in Nairobi and Bungoma where he had dumped the bodies of his victims, who were all children.
Wanjala was detained at the Jogoo Road Police Station and was scheduled to appear in court on October 13.
