Masten Wanjala was detained over the killing of a dozen children. Photo AP/Provided by PA Media 

A Kenyan man who confessed to killing a dozen children has been beaten to death by a mob after escaping from a police station.

Area Assistant County Commissioner Cornelius Nyaribai said Masten Wanjala was killed near his home in Bungoma county, a day after he escaped from police cells in Nairobi.

Police authorities said Wanjala was identified after he played with locals in a football match. Some then trailed him and beat him to death.

“The law of the jungle as applied by irate villagers prevailed,” Kenyan police’s Directorate of Criminal Investigations said in a tweet on Friday.

Authorities have said Wanjala confessed to killing 12 children in Nairobi, Machakos and Bungoma counties when he was arrested in July. He reportedly posed as a football coach to lure victims.

So far, five bodies have been recovered. - Associated Press/PA Media