Drama in Kirinyaga as mother nabs wayward son trading her prized cockerel for booze

That the tough month of January is taking its toll on Kenyans is no secret. Revellers at an entertainment joint in Kamuiru town, Kirinyaga County were last Friday treated to a free-for-all drama after an elderly woman stormed the pub in time, just before her son traded her prized cockerel for beer and gave him a thorough beating.

The man, a teacher at nearby private school, is alleged to have stolen his mother's cockerel and rushed to the drinking hole where he was meeting a prospective buyer in order to make a quick buck to fund his drinking spree.

"The cash-strapped man had been looking for a buyer for days and had found one whom he was meeting at the bar," said Sammy Ndege, an eye witness.

Ndege said the alleged thief got into the bar and ordered a bottle of beer on credit, with a promise to pay once the deal was done. Suspicious of the windfall, other local drunks milled around him in anticipation of free drinks. The potential buyer arrived minutes later and sat next to him and bargaining began in earnest.

"All was okay. But after getting wind of what her son was up to, the irate elderly mother rushed to the bar, breathing fire," said Ndege.

When the crowd of drunks spotted the elderly woman breeze in with fury, they distanced themselves from him, pretending that they had no clue what was about to happen.

"So you have decided I won't rear my chicken in peace huh!" the irate mother is said to have barked as he planted slaps on her son's cheeks whilst grabbing away her cockerel from him.

An ugly scuffle ensued, with the mother whacking her son around as drunken revellers cheered her on. Embarrassed that he had almost been duped into buying stolen chicken, the prospective buyer melted into the crowd.

Interestingly, Ndege revealed that this was not the first time the alleged thief had tried to make a quick buck using unscrupulous means. Early in the month, he said, he had slashed his mother's napier grass and sold it to a local farmer.

"Frustrated with the harsh January economic times, the broke man turned into a daily subscriber to cheap liquor and has since converted it into his breakfast lunch and super," complained Ndege.