The air was thick with smoke and fury as the angry mob surrounded the chief’s home, their faces twisted with rage.
The compound, once a symbol of authority and peace, now lay in chaos. Flames leapt from the roof, casting eerie shadows over the crowd, their eyes burning with a thirst for justice.
The scent of charred wood mingled with the acrid stench of anger. People shouted, their voices rising in unison, demanding retribution for the killings that had shattered their community. In the midst of the chaos, the chief’s once-proud home crumbled, consumed by both fire and vengeance.
It all began when two suspected livestock thieves were killed in the early hours of Tuesday. The suspects were confronted by a mob on Monday night and lynched on suspicion of them being thieves.
This is after they were found with a herd of livestock late in the night. They were taken to a local hospital with injuries where they died.
The news of the night’s events spread quickly Tuesday morning, igniting fury among villagers.
The villagers claimed the two victims were not thieves but legitimate livestock traders.
The mob stormed Malava Hospital, retrieved the bodies, and marched to the assistant chief’s homestead in Msalaba Village,setting his houses ablaze.
The administrator fled for his life, narrowly escaping their wrath.
Malava Sub-County Police Commander Paul Mwenda warned the residents against taking the law into their own hands.
He said they are investigating the attack on the administrator and the lynching of the two suspects.
The team that landed in the area on Wednesday is, among others, sensitizing locals on the dangers of taking the law into their hands.
The bodies were later moved back to the mortuary pending autopsy and investigations.
Cases of mob lynching have been on the rise amid calls on parties involved to surrender suspects to authorities for processing and investigations.
Experts say the trend indicates a breakdown of law and order and want security agencies to increase their actions to tame the same.
At least two cases of mob lynching are reported daily in the country which officials term as alarming.
