Grief has struck Wanzalala village in Shinyalu constituency Kakamega county after a 5-year-old girl was defiled and murdered by a 15-year-old boy, who was then lynched by an angry mob after he dumped her body in a nearby sugarcane plantation.

According to the girl’s father, David Kuyanda, and her mother Annette Kasiti, she left school in the afternoon, removed her school uniform, and went to play with friends in the village.

The family searched for the child for two days before being shown by the suspect where the lifeless body was found lying.

The incident has thrown the village in mourning calling for urgent need for increased protection and care for vulnerable children.

Valentine Lukeya, the assistant chief of Irobo sub-location, expressed concern that the victim’s family had not reported the incident to his office. He only learned about it after the suspect was killed by the mob.

He urged parents to be vigilant and cautious about their children’s safety.

The bodies were taken to Kakamega Referral Hospital Mortuary.