Angry landlord shocked occupants of his building by locking the gate with a live snake for falling behind in rent payment.
Gatekeepers News reports that this incident took place in the town of Kitui in Kenya and first became public knowledge after Nairobi Governor, Mike Sonko posted an image of the gate on Facebook.
Sonko posted an average-sized picture of a green snake wrapped around the lock of the gate. He wrote alongside the post and explained that the landlord decided to wrap the reptile around the lock “after tenants failed to clear September and October rent arrears.”
Sonko’s Facebook post has garnered over 10,000 reactions as well as over 1,500 comments with fans divided over the landlord’s extreme position on the issue.
Samson Robinson felt that the snake’s rights had been “infringed” by the landlord’s actions while Julius Munywoki felt the incident would “tarnish” the reputation of Kitui online.
Mwalimu Edwn Anton felt the snake lock would prove ineffective if put to the test. “This type of snake rarely bites and if they bite they have no venom thus harmless,” he wrote, “just pull it out and throw it away.”
Others like Humble Boyie branded the picture “nonsense” while Timothy Mwetu claimed the image was “edited propaganda” designed to damage Kenya’s reputation.
It is reported that the landlord responsible for the use of the snake has been named in local reports as Samuel Kioko, who is resident in Kunda Kindu area of Kitui.
Reports say Kioko “discreetly placed” the snake on the door after they went to work one morning.
The animal was bound to the gate but news of its appearance soon went viral with an image of the snake also shared by Donald Z. Ngeno, a self-acclaimed “policy and development influencer” based in Nairobi.
