Five elderly people suspected of practising witchcraft have been burnt to death in western Kenya, police said. "They include four women and a man in their 80s who were accused of having abducted a child," Kisii deputy police Commander Manasseh Musyoka said. The killings occurred at Bomatara Village in Mosocho Division on Thursday.

A resident who declined to be named said the abducted child was found dumped on the roadside. "He was unconscious and when he regained it, he was able to tell the names of his abductors. That is when a decision was reached in the village to hunt them down. And they were all burnt in their houses," he said.  In March last year, 12 people, mainly elderly men and women, were burnt to death in Nyamira district in similar circumstances.

Those lynched were identified as Boyani Gichana, Yobensia Onguso, Sandimu Mageto, Mary Yusita and Ongubo Ichari. They were all aged over 80. The DC told residents to report suspects to authorities. Twelve suspected witches were killed in the same area last year. Musyoka said police would patrol the area on 24-hour basis to avert further lynching.