The dramatic night rescue of a kidnapped pastor

KIAMBU, Kenya, May 21- What did the four thugs want from the man of God?

It’s a question that might remain unanswered, but a Kabete based pastor is counting himself lucky, after he was rescued from kidnappers on Thursday night.

During the dramatic rescue operation, two suspects were shot dead, detectives said.

Pastor John Chege was heading home while driving his personal vehicle, when he was hijacked.

It was some few minutes after 8pm.

Once they had taken control of the pastor’s car, the gangsters commandeered it towards Kiamumbi area in Kiambu county.

But detectives got a tip of the incident from witnesses and swung to action.

In Kiamumbi, the DCI said, “the suspects were ordered to surrender but they defied the orders prompting a fierce shootout that left two of the suspected thugs dead.”

Police said they had recovered a smith and wesson pistol loaded with two rounds of 9mm calibre and a knife from the suspects.

“It’s not yet clear what they wanted to get from the pastor,” a detective privy to the ongoing investigations told Shahidi News.

Meanwhile, a manhunt operation for the two suspects who managed to escape is underway.

While incidents of kidnapping had reduced, police statistics show a drastic rise over the past a few months.

The situation has been more dire since the COVID-19 pandemic struck the country.

This is because of massive job losses occasioned by the economic meltdown.