A man allegedly chopped off his five-year-old nephew's penis in Wundanyi, Taita Taveta county, on Tuesday.
The uncle reportedly attacked the boy after he returned home from school that evening and then fled.
Wundanyi OCPD Benjamin Muhia told The Star on phone he was later arrested by villagers who frogmarched him to the police station.
“The suspect was senselessly beaten by the angry mob before being taken to the station. Police took him to a private hospital in Wundanyi where he was admitted in critical condition. We shall take him to court once he is released."
Weruga villagers said they did not know the circumstances that led to the crime.
The man is said to have tossed or tucked genitals away someplace and can't remember where he put them.
But Nominated MCA Mary Mngola, who rushed the boy to hospital, said the attacker is mentally ill. She
said the man used a kitchen knife.
“The boy stays with his grandmother and uncles. The grandmother was at the market when the incident occurred."
"Normally, when the child comes back from school it is the uncle who changes his clothes,” she said.
The ward representative said the victim's cousins raised the alarm when they saw
the uncle attacking him.
"When his elder brother arrived, the suspect had already chopped off the boy's private parts and changed his clothes."
The family confirmed what had happened when his clothes were taken off after he complained of pain.
The boy was rushed to Moi referral hospital in Voi but didn't get much help due to ongoing nurses' strike.
He was later taken to Nairobi Women's Hospital.