Man jailed as tobacco farm goes up in smoke

By Wairimu Kamande

A man was sentenced to nine months in prison by a Thika court after he pleaded guilty to assaulting a neighbour and burning his tobacco farm.

Appearing before senior resident magistrate, Ms Litizia Wachira, Peter Muchoki admitted assaulting Josphat Mutisya on October 27 and burning his tobacco.

To avoid the prison sentence, Muchoki will pay a Sh20,000 fine
The court heard that it was at around 4pm when Mutisya was informed by neighbours that his tobacco crop had been set ablaze.

He went to the farm and found Muchoki, who became violent on being told to stop what he was doing.

Instead, he hurled a stone at Mutisya, which hurt one of his eyes. Chief Inspector Josephine Wambua said Mutisya was treated and Muchoki later arrested.
The accused said there was a feud between the complainant and the family of the accused over the land under tobacco.