Angry residents in Vihiga on Monday night killed a suspected defiler said to have sexually assaulted a minor in Wanalo village in Shamakhokho, Hamisi Sub-County.
The angry mob is said to have pounced on Clement Mandela over allegations that he defiled, killed and buried the six-year-old on Sunday when she went missing.
The girl's sandals would later be found at the suspect's home after residents launched a search, which saw the crowd accuse him of being behind the disappearance.
Shamakhokho Chief Modlyn Imbayi confirmed the incident on Tuesday morning, saying that the man confessed to committing the crime.
"The girl's slippers were found in his house on Monday night and positively identified to be hers. The man confessed that he defiled the girl, killed and buried her within the locality. He showed the people where he buried the body," he said.
He added that the suspect, 32, was not married, and was lynched before the police could intervene.
The administrator observed that the man led the crowd to where he had buried the minor, whose body was exhumed and taken to the Vihiga County Referral Hospital morgue in Mbale.
The suspect's body was also taken to the same morgue.