Police in Garissa were forced to fire in the air to rescue a middle-aged man from an angry mob that was baying for his blood after he was cornered over allegations of kidnapping a seven-year-old boy.
According to Ahmed Ibrahim, a nephew to the kidnapped child, the boy was heading to a swimming pool in one of the prestigious hotels in the town before a lone boda boda operator forcibly grabbed him outside their family gate and sped off with him.
It took the intervention of plain clothed and uniformed Police officers from nearby Iftin Police station to shoot in the air to disperse the angry crowd that was demanded to teach the suspect a lesson.
For the past two weeks, there have been tension and claims of young children being abducted and widespread reports of a human trafficking syndicates in the area.
However, local police have said there no reported cases of missing persons.