A 35-year-old man was on Wednesday killed in Kirinyaga County for reportedly failing to pay a Sh700 debt.
Joseph Muthike from Mutitu village is said to have met his death at Barcho trading centre on Wednesday night over failure to pay the money owed to a local money lending group.
Muthike reportedly died in the hands of a local bodaboda group which has been entrusted with the job of recovering the group's loans. His body was recovered near a local school.
According to residents, the group has established its own illegal courts to deal with defaulters, where they are taken for questioning upon failure to pay their loans.
"There is an illegal group running a Kangaroo court in this area,” one resident told Citizen Digital.
Ndia OCPD Cicily Gatiti, however, noted that the police are unaware of the presence of the illegal court in the area.
She said that according to investigations, the deceased succumbed to his injuries as he walked home after the encounter.
“We found the body near St Philip High School, preliminary investigations have revealed that he was beaten by an unknown group and died on his way home,” said the OCPD.
The police boss warned against illegal loan recovering methods, urging residents to instead approach the police for help in case of default.
“If you are claiming money from someone, follow the right procedure. Tell the police or take the person to court, they will help you recover your money,” she added.
In 2015, a butcher from Kiambu County was arrested following allegations of killing a businessman over a Sh500 debt.
The butcher is reported to have stabbed the deceased to death after a bitter argument erupted over the debt.