A man in Masaba South, Kisii county has been accused of chopping off a tenant’s fingers over Ksh500 rent arrears.
In the unfortunate incident which occurred on Friday, June 16, 2023, the accused, a landlord, allegedly assaulted a student identified as Newton Nyabuto after he delayed his rent payment.
Nyabuto, a second-year student pursuing mechanical engineering at Keroka Technical Institute, told the press that he had paid Ksh2,000 and promised to offset the remainder when he returned from his attachment.
When he returned home, the landlord confronted him about the remainder as agreed, to which he asked him to give him more time to settle the arrears.
To his shock, the landlord dragged him out of the house with a machete and started cutting his fingers.
“I had already paid Ksh2000 and had promised to settle the rest when I returned. It is when I told him to give me two days to settle it that he dragged me out while armed with a machete and as I struggled to disengage he cut my fingers,” he stated.
Nyabuto was treated at a nearby health facility, he was later discharged before filing a complaint at Masimba Police Station.
Students who reside in the area stormed the suspect’s house and destroyed his property after learning of their colleague’s misfortune.
Police led by the sub-county police commander Samuel Gitau have pledged to get to the bottom of the matter and a manhunt has been launched for the suspect who has since gone into hiding after committing the heinous act.
“We are not resting, in any case, we have stepped up the hunt,” Gitau told a local publication.
