There was drama in Moi Ndabi village in Naivasha when area residents caught up with a seasoned cattle rustler and burnt his hands to teach him a lesson.
The suspect however succumbed to his injuries as police moved in to investigate increasing cases of cattle rustling in parts of the area.
The move incidentally came hours after police recovered stolen livestock from the neighboring village of Tangi Tano.
In the first incident, the suspect was caught red handed by area residents leading away stolen sheep from one of the homes.
According to one of the area elders James Kimaru, cases of rustling were on the rise in the area with the animals ferried to neighboring county of Narok.
“The suspect who has been spotted in this village on several occasions was caught up by members of the public who thoroughly beat him up and burnt parts of hands as a lesson,” he said.
A medic at the sub hospital confirmed the incident adding that the man was received in the facility with serious injuries.
“The man had serious burn-wounds on his hands and he had received injuries on his head when he was brought in but died while undergoing medication,” said the medic.
And in the second case, a group of cattle rustlers escaped death narrowly when they fled from Tangi Tano where they had stolen over twenty sheep and cattle.
During the incident, the over five rustlers broke in one of the homes where they made away with the livestock before residents caught up with them.
Confirming the incident, Naivasha sub-county commissioner Isaac Masinde said that some of the suspects involved had been identified by area residents.
He added that it was a matter of time before they caught up with them adding that they were keen to end cases of cattle rustling.
“Police were informed of the robbery and with the assistance of members of the public they managed to track the stolen animals though the suspects managed to escape,” he said.
Masinde added that security had been heightened in the area warning that anyone involved in the theft would face the full wrath of the law.