A disgruntled landlord has given a whole new meaning to the term “throwing a hissy fit” after locking the gate to his property with a snake after tenants fell behind on their rent.
The incident reportedly took place in the town of Kitui in Kenya and first came to light after Nairobi governor Mike Sonko posted an image of the gate to Facebook.
In the picture, an average-sized green snake can be seen wrapped around the lock of an orange colored gate.
Writing alongside the post, Sonko explained that the landlord decided to wrap the reptile around the lock “after tenants failed to clear September and October rent arrears.”
Sonko’s post has garnered nearly 10,000 reactions as well as more than 1,400 comments on Facebook with fans divided over the property owner’s extreme approach.
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, meanwhile, 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.
However, according to Naija News, the landlord responsible for the use of the snake has been named in local reports as Samuel Kioko, who resides in the Kunda Kindu area of Kitui.
They say Kioko “discreetly placed” the snake on the door after they went to work one morning.
The animal was not 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 described “policy and development influencer” based in Nairobi.
source: barristerng
