•One of the survivors informed police that they were heading to Kampala to do DNA tests as part of their preparations for a trip abroad.
•According to locals, parents have recently been obliged to accompany their children to school because of concerns about trafficking following the disappearance of children in unusual circumstances.
Police are investigating the circumstances under which three people were stoned to death by a mob in a suspected kidnapping case in a village in Butere, Kakamega County.
The incident occurred when a car carrying eight people pulled into the neighbourhood. Two 14-year-old boys saw them and sounded the alarm, believing they were kidnappers.
Police rescued six people and took them to the hospital following the Friday morning ordeal.
The injured also sustained panga cuts and were transported to Butere Sub County Hospital in critical condition. The victims were two men and one woman.
Investigations have since established that the July 5 incident in Ibokolo village was the result of mistaken identity.
According to Butere Sub-county Police Commander Julius Kipkorir, the deceased were part of a group heading to Uganda when their driver accidentally stopped in a village where child trafficking is allegedly common.
This triggered suspicion, which attracted an irate mob that attacked them.
"The case is that of mistaken identity. The suspects were victims. The matter is still under investigation," said Kipkorir.
One of the survivors informed police that they were heading to Kampala to do DNA tests as part of their preparations for a trip abroad.
"They beat us with machetes, big sticks, sharp knives, and stones. When the police arrived they were asked to stop but they kept fighting and throwing stones at us," Yusuf Abdirahman said from his hospital bed.
According to locals, parents have recently been obliged to accompany their children to school because of concerns about trafficking following the disappearance of children in unusual circumstances.
On the material day, the mother of the two children who were incorrectly labelled as being trafficked by the deceased revealed that she escorted them out of the house every morning.
"However, upon getting to the gate, they turned, came back running to the house, locked the door and told me that they had seen the car that steals children on the road," she recalled.
She alerted neighbours, who raised the alarm, resulting in a mob attack and the torching of the vehicle.
The police originally believed the residents' account and confirmed an increase in reported child trafficking instances. However, subsequent investigations revealed that the incident was a case of mistaken identity.
Two identity cards were recovered, one for the driver and the other for a woman named Amal Warsame Yusuf.
A Uganda-issued COMESA driver's licence belonging to Somali national Osob Ali Mohamed was also found at the site.
Kipkorir said the police discourage mob lynching and consider it a crime. They want suspects arrested to be turned over to authorities for processing and possible prosecution. The majority of victims of mob lynching are innocent.
"Mob lynching is criminal and must be discouraged. We have had incidents where those involved have been charged with serious offences," he said.