A man suspected of COVID-19 was stoned to death by locals in one African town, reported ZimEye News.
The incident occurred in Kibundani Village, Kwale County, a coastal region in Kenya, on Tuesday.
The man, George Kotini Hezron, was walking home from a local bar in the village of Msambweni when a mob of youths viciously attacked him.
…namely George Kotini Hezron while heading home from a drinking spree and on reaching Kibundani area about 3kms west of the station met a group of youth and an argument ensued as the youth took advantage of his drunkenness and started accusing him of suffering from Corona virus https://t.co/bcZsHwWHgU
— Fred Ng’etich (@ngetichfred) March 18, 2020
Hezron was rushed to Msambweni Subcounty Hospital, where he later died of his injuries.
Msambweni Sub-County Commander Nehemiah Bitok told Daily Nation Kenya that the youths stoned Hezron to death.
“While heading home, he met a group of youths who attacked him, accusing him of suffering from coronavirus,” Bitok said.
Bitok said police had launched an investigation into the possible coronavirus hate crime.
“No arrests have been made, but we have launched investigations,” he said.
Separately, we’ve reported on the first possible coronavirus hate crime in the US, an Asian man was recently stabbed to death by a man wearing a medical mask in NYC. Also, Asians in California are stockpiling weapons and ammunition out of fear that they might be attacked.
Bitok warned members in the community that taking the law into their own hands and killing suspected COVID-19 carriers is illegal.
Kenya’s health ministry has reported a total of seven confirmed cases, with no deaths. We noted earlier this week that, with the lack of test kits on the African continent, a virus crisis is “looming.”
A man suspected to have coronavirus has been beaten to death in Kenya.
— Africa Facts Zone (@AfricaFactsZone) March 19, 2020
Let’s call this incident in Kenya for what it is, a good ole’ fashion purge.
