A 60-year-old Murang’a man described how he lost KSh 700,000 to a woman he met at a bar in Maragua town in just one week.
Tom Ikonya had just sold a piece of property for the money specified above, so he decided to go to a bar on Police Road to celebrate the excellent transaction.
Ikonya, in a furious interview with Nation, recalled how, despite being loaded when he went to the bar on November 10 in the afternoon, by November 17 he was out of money and trapped.
“I am a popular fella around here and it was not long before I had company, firstly males and then some females. With cash, my generosity goes up and within an hour, my table was a mini party,” Ikonya said.
He purchased KSh 6,320 when purchasing eight beers at the bar.
The sexagenarian claimed that somebody was by his side the entire time.
He claimed that he trusted her since she seemed sincere in her care for him.
On that fateful night, the man claimed the bartender told them they were about to close at 10.45 p.m.
The ‘concerned’ woman suggested that they go to her apartment because it was late and the man wanted to get a room.
Ikonya claimed that a male friend had advised him not to approach the woman.
She forgot the warning as she kissed him on the lips.
After a few kisses, the man followed the woman, and the two rode a motorcycle to her home.
In the house, he “bathed, ate and slept like a king”
He stayed in the house for six days and his routine was waking up, praying with the woman, bathing, taking breakfast, venturing out and into different bars and retiring back to the house for the night.
Starts withdrawing money
The man intended to use part of the KSh 700,000 to start a boiled meat business.
Having discussed the project, the woman drew him a budget totalling KSh 250,000, but he asked him to withdraw KSh 350,000.
After four days, the woman informed him that she had paid for the business premises and was looking for workers who understood the said business.
She further demanded KSh 100,000 to pay for other licences and another loan of KSh 50,000 for her emergency.
On the sixth day, at around 4pm, the man said the woman excused herself, informing him that she would be back after an hour.
However, at 10pm, the woman had not returned and her phone was off.
With no hard cash on him, Ikonya proceeded to an ATM to withdraw cash to pay for the drinks.
While at the ATM lobby, the man was surprised to learn that he only had KSh 8.78 as the only available balance.
At 10.30pm, he proceeded to the woman’s house but was locked from the outside.
On calling her, she informed him that her military husband was home from Somalia and they were at a nearby bar.
He called his brother, who transferred KSh 10,000 to him to pay the bar bill.
On the following day, he returned to his home in Ruiru to reflect on how he had lost the cash within that short period.
