60-year-old Tom Ikonya from Murang’a County lost Ksh 700,000 after an encounter with a female bar attendant.
The old man was robbed off his money by the woman after he revealed to her his plan to open a boiled meat business.
The money disappeared between November 10, 2022 and November 14, 2022.
Here is his story as told by WoK.
Background
On November 14, 2022, Tom Ikonya left Kajiado County for Maragua, Murang’a County after selling one of his assets.
Ikonya lived in Maragua where he worked as a plant operator in a plantation between 1998 and 2017 before moving to Kajiado County.
According to an article on the Daily Nation, by the time he lost all his money, the old man had returned to Maragua to invest in a business.
“I felt that it was good to return to Maragua to start a meat and soup business and to say hello to my long-time friends,” Ikonya said.
Ikonya arrived in Maragua and he was joined by his old friends for drinks at a local bar where he also met a woman who later turned against him.
He made merry with his friends and the companion for the better part pf the night before he left with the women to her house.
Ikonya had taken eight beers, and he paid a Ksh 6,320 bill.
“The woman kissed me once on the lips… I followed her to a waiting boda boda, which took us to her house,” he said.
On the following day, Ikonya explained his plans to open a meat business in Maragua town to the woman.
The woman drew him a Ksh 250,000 budget for the business and instructed him to withdraw Ksh 350,000.
By November 12, 2022, Ikonya had Ksh 260,000 left in his bank account after his earlier withdrawals including the business plan.
The woman later told the man that he had paid for the proposed business premises and she was scouting for workers.
She also asked for a further Ksh 100,000 for licenses, shortly before requesting for a further Ksh 50,000 for an emergency.
“On day five, I made several withdrawals because I had decided that too many trips to the bank were tedious,” he said.
On November 15, 2022, the woman and Ikonya returned to the bar where the woman left a parcel containing Ikonya’s clothes.
By 10 PM the same night, the woman had switched off her phone, and when Ikonya wanted to settle a Ksh 3,100 bill, he found Ksh 8.78 balance in his ATM card.
He called his elder brother and explained that he was in an emergency that required a Ksh 10,000 bailout.
“My brother did not hesitate. Via his bank, he transferred the amount to my phone number. We went back to the bar. I paid my bill and took a room. The following morning, I was back to my Ruiru home to take stock of my six days in hell,” he says.
As if that was not enough, the old man was mugged right outside the bar on the following day in the morning.
It was then when he reported the matter to Maragua Police Station.
“There was no justification for me to go to Maragua town, I had no reason to trust anyone in that town,” Ikonya said, adding that he sank into depression following the ordeal.
Ikonya who had separated from his wife over 30 years ago said he had plans to remarry after receiving the money.
“I have two grown-up children who are employed. I had not thought about remarrying but after I got the cash, I thought of getting a woman,” he said.
He advised men to refrain from carrying huge loads of cash to bars and entertaining women pretending to be nice.
“Tell women that I no longer have the desire to be kissed even though I have some little cash. I am no longer generous. I will never again let people drive me into poverty and self-pity,” Ikonya noted.
