A man was stoned to death and his body set on fire in the Obunga area of Kisumu County after residents accused him of stealing a water meter on Monday morning.
According to witnesses, the suspect was found in possession of the allegedly stolen meter before an alarm was raised, drawing a crowd of irate residents who descended on him with stones and sticks.
Efforts to save the man failed as the mob overpowered him and set his body ablaze moments later.
Police officers arrived at the scene shortly after the incident and moved the charred body to the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital mortuary for postmortem and identification.
Authorities have condemned the act, terming it mob justice, which remains a criminal offence under Kenyan law.
Police urged the public to report suspected offenders instead of taking the law into their own hands.
Cases of mob lynching have reportedly been on the rise in Kisumu and its outskirts, with police pledging to intensify community policing efforts to stem the trend.
