Having finished supplying his daily stock of Nile perch at Top Market in Nakuru, John, not his real name decides to rudishia mwili shukrani.

Being a Sunday, he opts for the closest venue, a wines and spirits shop facing Nasher market.

Here, he is joined by two female companions, completing the perfect definition of drinks na mayengs.

In the spirit of merry making and being a person who had just made his day’s earnings, John faithfully pays his bills as requested, before ordering more alcohol.

A few drinks later, John finds himself in a tight spot, as the waitress asks him to clear the remaining bill . This is where things go wrong.

“He had money, but not the full amount. The situation escalated when he started insulting the liquor store owner in his drunken stupor,” a source who witnessed the altercation tells Mtaa Wangu.

The money John owed the liquor store was Sh 300.

The verbal exchange of words quickly escalates to a fist fight pitting John against the younger and stronger store owner and six other men.

Caroline Akinyi, a fish vendor who works at top market confirms that she witnessed a group of seven young men giving Mr. Onditi a beating likened to that of a mwizi wa kibeti. She tries to intervene but to no avail.

Caroline Akinyi who witnessed John being beaten up on August 4, 2024.

Photo credit: BRET SANYA/MTAA WANGU

"The group of young men were going through his pockets, removing all his belongings. Further, they put a bucket over his head and continued pummelling him," she recalls.

Caroline says she started shouting for help, prompting other traders to from inside the market and salvage the situation.

With blood gushing from different parts of his body, John with the help of his colleagues cleaned himself up and was advised to make his way to the hospital before reporting the unfortunate assault to a police station.

Mtaa Wangu visited the wines and spirits shop and found it closed and earmarked for demolition by the County Government of Nakuru.

The day I got really drunk and argued with my mother-in-law

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Muthoni Wanjiku