A Nairobi-based hawker was on Wednesday involved in an altercation with a motorist who mistook him for a carjacker attempting to use force to steal a vehicle along Mombasa Road.
In a viral video, the hawker was depicted suddenly rushing towards the Ford SUV caught in a traffic jam at the Nyayo Roundabout.
The hawker appeared to harbour intentions of fixing the windscreen, however, other motorists and onlookers grew suspicious of him leading to the confrontation.
One driver confronted the hawker while holding a stone but ultimately refrained from beating the hawker after he found out that the former was trying to fix the windscreen cover on the motorist's car.
Journalist Sadiqque Shaban, who recorded the incident, also revealed that he had attempted to contact the Directorate of Criminal Investigations Officer (DCIO) in Lang'ata, believing the incident was an attempted car-jacking incident.
The journalist quipped that in such instances, it is easy for people to act in the heat of the moment before establishing the facts.
"Tough life on the streets. Legitimately trying to earn a living, but certain impulsive and unwise decisions could bestow Darwin’s award in an instant," the journalist said in a statement.
The incident highlighted the tough situation many Kenyans are facing due to the tough economic environment.
The latest report by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) showed that the number of jobless persons grew from 2.89 per cent in September 2022 to 2.94 per cent in December 2022.
This meant that over 80,000 jobs were lost during the three months.
From the data, youths aged between 20 and 29 years accounted for the majority share with 1.54 million people. This underlined the growing crisis in the rate of youth unemployment in the country.
