Siaya County, Kenya –  Tense scenes unfolded in Yala, Siaya County, when an angry mob snatched a suspected serial killer from police custody, lynched him, and dumped his body into the Yala River in broad daylight.

According to police, the suspect, identified as Charles Onyango Odhiambo, alias Kwa, was wanted in connection to a string of brutal murders in Siaya County. Officers arrested him at around 4 a.m. on Thursday in Kibos, Kisumu County, reportedly finding him armed with a machete.

He was taken to Yala Police Station pending investigations.

At around 7 a.m., detectives removed Odhiambo from the cells to lead them to a location where he allegedly dumped bodies of his victims. However, word of his arrest had already spread, drawing a large mob along the Kisumu-Busia Highway.

The mob, fearing that Odhiambo might be freed by the courts, blocked the road from both ends, demanding that he be handed over.

“They believed justice through the courts would be slow or fail entirely,” said a source familiar with the standoff.

Overpowered and outnumbered, the police could only watch from a distance as the mob beat the suspect to death. His body was later thrown into the Yala River before the crowd dispersed.

Authorities have condemned the incident, warning residents against taking the law into their own hands.