April 30, 2009
Ants
BY KIPSANG KERICH
There was shock and awe as the normally quiet sosiot town in Kericho last week was brought to a stand still as an ant- devoured man was brought for treatment at the local dispensary.
The man, a matatu driver, had gone on a drinking spree with his buddies the previous day. His friends were to recount later that the man had vowed to drink senselessly. “Oyee ra ba kotuit” (I will drink till I black out!) the driver was reported to have said
The victim who was ‘discovered’ by his conductor in the early hours of Saturday morning after failing to report for duty was unconscious after having bled seriously.
His hairy head was bald and soaked in blood after a night-long encounter with red ants. His tongue had also been devoured and the man was unable to speak.
The victim’s private organs had also been visited by the ants, and one conductor, Chemengich, kept exclaiming ‘ibak kakwam kiikan kotar kabisa ooh!’( the ants have eaten his organ so badly!).
It remains a mystery as to how the man slept the whole night as the ants ate him up. The painful experience has left many tongues wagging with speculation. Village talk has it that the encounter with ants is a curse, not an ordinary incident.
‘Chu ko chubisiet ne kibo lagok che morib sikikwak che yosen,’ (This is a curse from the elders as punishment for those who don’t take good care of their ageing parents), villagers were heard saying.
The claims could not however be confirmed, and the rumour mills continued churning out speculations. Another section of villagers believe the experience was a god-sent message for the man to quit drinking before it is too late.
The man who is recuperating at his home is said to have claimed that he was attacked by unknown people on the material day as he walked home late after heavy drinking. The assailants allegedly left him unconscious.
But villagers have been quick to point out that there were no signs of physical struggle in the scene where the man was found and no one reported hearing of any screams that night.
The man was found some feet away from his house, and the ants had entered his nose, mouth and ears.
After being found unconscious, villagers undressed the man and’ plucked’ the red ants that were logged in his private parts. Some very stubborn ants, that the locals call “kiptilit” could not be easily removed, as they were firmly stuck.
The conservative locals threw caution to the wind as men and women joined hands to assist the unconscious man. women spectators were left weeping after seeing the man sprawled on the ground.
The date with fate was a near life-ending experience for the man, a father of four. Revellers the otherwise busy bars in the area kept away for several days as they meditated about their drinking habits. One villager nicknamed ‘sosa’, for his want of free drinks, was, for the first time in years, seen sober.
Notwithstanding the hunger in the country and the economic stagnation, brewers in the area continue with their business undeterred.
The ants eat man incident might be a life- changing experience for some who were scarred out of their wits.
Patches of scars left by the ants in the man’s body tell the story of a unique encounter with nature, like one of those flicks in ‘stranger than fiction’ tales.
There could be a lesson or two here to be learnt- next time you go out for a drink that could be your date with fate.
ENDS.
