Kakamega woman clobbered for eating chicken meant for hubby

A 32-year-old woman in Matungu, Kakamega County learnt the hard way that sinking her teeth into a juicy gizzard, drumstick or back of a chicken is taboo among locals after her beastly husband gave her a thorough beating and dragged her before a village headman who fined her.

The woman found herself between the hammer and the anvil after her 36-year-old husband, only identified as Okutoyi, reigned terror upon her for eating chicken parts traditionally preserved for men.

The woman had slaughtered the bird for super and allegedly served her husband one drumstick and the gizzard, which he claims had been cut into two.

However, the following day, Okutoyi says she served him “tough tendons that no self-respecting dog would dare eat  with sukuma wiki”. Of course this didn’t go down well with him. Angry Okutoyi probed his wife in regard to what happened to the chicken meal that remained, more particularly the other half of the gizzard and drumstick.

Dung, however, hit the fan when the woman owned up, confessing that, indeed, she had eaten the said chicken parts for lunch. Irked that his wife had ‘disrespected’ him and infringed upon his rights, Okutoyi savagely attacked her with slaps and kicks before she bolted and hid at a neighbours house.

Okutoyi went and fished her out before hauling her to the village headman who found her guilty of the ‘crime’ and ordered her to pay a chicken. The headman warned her against disrespecting culture and her husband. She was told next time she repeats the offense, her mother and grandmother will be summoned and severely punished for dereliction of duty — teaching her manners.

Interestingly, while gossiping with the tipster who told this writer this story, the woman was not remorseful. “Why can’t a woman eat juicy chicken parts? Its not like there is anything special about a chicken’s back or the gizzard. I am the one who cooks it, anyway so why can’t I even taste it ones?” she sneered.

Locals who were interviewed said it was taboo for a woman to eat certain parts of a chicken, terming the woman “disrespectful” of culture. According to the local culture, certain parts of chicken, especially the gizzard and the back are a preserve for men.

“This woman knew all about this food code. I think she was just being rude and disrespectful to our culture and her husband. Gizzards and the backs are eaten by men. It is not even supposed to be shared between two individuals. That can lead to bad omen or hate or regular fights between them,” says Shem Tindi, a neighbour.

“When the man of the house is not around, these taboo foods are served to his brother, son or a male elderly neighbour. She is lucky she was not divorced,” he concluded.