An irate mob descended on two individuals in Zimmerman with blows, kicks, stones and crude weapons of all kinds after suspecting them of attempting to kidnap a 2-year-old child.
The area residents have complained of a rise in child disappearances without a trace.
It took the intervention of the police who came in the nick of time and dispersed the angry crowd baying for the suspects’ blood.
Eye witness narrated that someone spotted two males in a red Nissan Juke with a small child.
That someone asked them to identify themselves and how they knew the child and one of them replied that the kid belonged to a neighbour.
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The duo was then tasked with calling the neighbour to come and identify the child, but they did not comply and instead locked themselves in the car.
That is when the trouble started because someone raised an alarm and the vehicle was blocked from moving until the child's mother came.
The residents did not wait till the woman came but attacked the duo. The crying child in the car did not make the situation any better, as it was misconstrued to mean the child was under duress.
By the time the child's mother came, it was too late as a lot of damage had already been caused to the suspects and their car.
Calls from the mother of the child to the mob to stop the attack fell on deaf ears even after confirming that she knew the fellows and they have been picking her child on many occasions.
Police arrived at the scene, rescued the two from imminent death, and then rushed them to the hospital for emergency treatment.
Residents say that unknown abductors have been at work and 10 children have disappeared under unclear circumstances since Tuesday.
Police later confirmed that it was a mere case of mistaken identity and the two were far from being child kidnappers.
Kasarani OCPD Peter Mwanzo warned the public against meting out instant justice.
