A Dandora businessman is recovering from gruesome injuries after a close friend bit his ear and attacked him with a wooden stick in a shocking case of money-fueled jealousy.
Samuel Musau Kioko, a second-hand tyre dealer operating in Dandora Phase 2, Njiru Sub-county, Nairobi, was assaulted on May 17 by Stephene Mwangi Wanjohi, a longtime friend and fruit vendor.
Police reports tabled at Makadara Law Courts reveal the two friends had a long-standing cash-handling agreement. Kioko would safely deposit daily tyre sales with Wanjohi, who ran a kiosk nearby.
However, the arrangement turned violent when Kioko handed Sh18,000 to Wanjohi’s wife after failing to find him at the kiosk one evening. The next day, when Kioko returned to collect the money, Wanjohi flew into a rage.
Eyewitnesses say Wanjohi struck Kioko on the eye with a wooden plank, then bit off part of his ear, accusing him of “showing off” in front of his wife.
“He thought I was trying to impress his wife with my earnings. That’s when he lost it,” Kioko reportedly told police officers.
Nearby residents rescued Kioko and rushed him to a local hospital. He sustained a bloodshot eye and torn ear, prompting police to launch a swift manhunt for the suspect
Wanjohi was arrested and arraigned before Senior Principal Magistrate Paul Rotich at the Makadara Law Courts, where he was charged with grievous bodily harm under Kenya’s penal code.
He pleaded not guilty and was released on a Sh100,000 cash bail. The case will be mentioned in July, pending further investigations and witness testimonies.
