KAMPALA, July 4 (Xinhua) -- A 70-year-old man suspected to be a cannibal was lynched by a group of angry residents in central Uganda this week, state media reported here on Friday.

    Lekobwami Ssozi, a resident of Kinaawa village in Dwaniro sub-county, Rakai district, was beaten with stones and clubs on Tuesday before his body was set ablaze, the state-owned New Visiondaily reported.

    Five houses, banana and coffee plantations and animals belonging to Ssozi were destroyed while his son, Samuel Batte, wasonly saved by the police who shot in the air to disperse the mob.

    The residents accused Ssozi and his family of killing and eating a villager named Baker Sempungu, who had earlier told the local government that Ssozis always chased him whenever he passed by their home at night.

    The district police chief Juma Okungo said when officials threatened to conduct a house-to-house search after Sempungu disappeared on June 12, roasted parts of his body surfaced, but his heart, tongue and intestines were missing.

    The residents' suspicion arose when Batte went to the police seeking protection, saying their lives were threatened, a move interpreted by the residents as the act for guilt.