Three boys from Kaptimbor village in Baringo county are nursing serious burn injuries at the County Referral Hospital after a pastor allegedly burnt them for stealing a packet of cakes from his bakery worth Sh80.
The man of God and his staff allegedly stripped the minors naked before burning their legs in an oven as a punishment for the theft at the bakery.
The three minors, two Form Two students and a Standard Eight pupil, were allegedly caught with a packet of cakes leading to the unfortunate incident.
“I was stripped naked and beaten up. The three men at the bakery then held me with my legs on the top of the oven even as I kept pleading for forgiveness, but they didn’t hear their pleas,” one of the two students.
According to information received by The Informer, the boys were picked up from their homes in the dead of night and subjected to the cruel punishment.
Margaret Tarus, the mother of one of the boys, said she received a call on Wednesday morning that her son had been admitted to a nearby hospital.
“When I got to the hospital, I was informed that he was among the suspects who stole cakes at a nearby bakery and had been picked up at night, I was shocked,” Tarus said.
Baringo County Referral Hospital medical superintendent Garishon Abakalwa said the minors sustained serious burns on their lower limbs but are in stable condition.
Confirming the incident, Baringo County Police Commander Adamson Bungei said the two main suspects, Joseph Mduma, a pastor and Daniel Cherop, have been arrested and are in custody in Kabarnet awaiting arraignment.