By Margaretta wa Gacheru (April 14, 2022)
Ryan Kioko
was sleeping soundly in his bed on the night of March 28th when he
was rudely wakened by blows raining down on his head, arms and chest. Before he
could clear his eyes, he got a blurry glimpse of three thugs wielding baseball
bats and shouting obscenities at both him and his girlfriend who by now was
wide awake but unscathed.
“It was only
because the neighbors heard the commotion and came running out and banging Ryan’s
door,” says his mother, Alice Mueni who adds she feels fortunate her son is
alive. “They beat him bloody, and unfortunately, this would be the first of
three times they came after him.”
The cause of
this cruelty is complicated, but in large part, it comes down to a woman, Ryan’s
girlfriend, who was formerly the girlfriend of thug number one, who apparently
wants her back. “She doesn’t want him,” says Mueni. “She says she only wants Ryan,
which is a big problem for him.”
Friends have
said there is too big of an age difference to find this whole situation
acceptable. Ryan is 24 while the woman is 30, and thug number one is 35. But
that hasn’t stopped him from trailing the young man who has been advised to let
go of this girlfriend for his safety, and even his survival.
But she is
said to refuse to let him go. He initially didn’t listen to his advisers,
including his older brother Mwanyiki, and sister Mutheu. But Ryan’s second
assault convinced him to leave her alone, only now, she’s the one who calls him
night and day and is unrelenting in her pursuit of this attractive younger man.
It was the
third attempted assault late last week in the evening hours that convinced Ryan
to lay low. “We have been advised to send him away for his own protection, but
he stays with me,” says his mother. “Who will pay for his moving and setting up
a new home in another town?” she asks?
Ryan was
minding his own business, having gone to the local kiosk to buy milk for his
mom when a car drove up and the three thugs jumped out. This time thug number
one was wielding a knife. So Ryan begged the kiosk owner to let him into her tiny
stall which at least could have been locked while he called for help.
But no, she
refused. So, Mike turned on his heels and sped straight home. At that stage, it
was 11pm at night, so since it was a distance to walk between their house and
the police station, the mom suggested they sleep and report the incident in the
early morning. “I didn’t feel safe taking that walk all alone,” Mueni said.
But the
thugs beat it straight to two different Eastlands police stations to report an injury
of thug number one which they claimed was inflicted by Ryan. It was a clearcut
lie, but since mother and son delayed, it looked like evil had the upper hand.
“There is a
warrant out for Ryan’s arrest,” says Mueni who is deeply disturbed, especially
as she knows the family of the ex-boyfriend. “The ringleader doesn’t have a
job, but he gets money from his father,” she says.
After the
first assault, Mueni and Ryan were able to claim damages and make the family
pay for the thugs’ smashing of all of Ryan’s electronic equipment, including
his computer. It seems the family vowed to get their money back by means of claiming
bogus damages by Ryan and maybe even getting him thrown into jail.
The
situation is even more complicated since it seems the thugs have been stalking Ryan
who has moved out of his mother’s house and doesn’t plan to surface until the
situation is right. The thugs have apparently gotten inside Mueni’s compound
and taken photos which they have circulated on social media.
One advice
that Mueni has taken to heart is that she and her son should hire a good lawyer
to protect and defend the young man’s life and interests.
What started
out as a crime of passion has turned into a senseless mini-war. One only prays
that bullies and bad boys don’t win the day since no good can come of that.
No comments:
Post a Comment