Vendor selling wild birds’ parts as chicken busted

In one of Kisumu slums, chicken lovers were recently startled to learn that the ‘chicken’ meat they have been enjoying is not actually from chicken but wilds birds.

Since it is expensive to buy a full chicken, residents normally buy deep fried chicken parts such as wings, drum sticks, hackles, necks, shanks and breasts. The locals say the chicken parts are much cheaper and affordable when bought separately.

It’s common to hear a resident order: “Miyaa bam gweno athi acham kawuono, iuse pesa adi cha, to be kawuono otegno maber? Adwa loso chiemo mamit (Give me one of the chicken thighs. I hope you slaughtered a mature chicken. I need to make good stew. What is the price)?

However, last Saturday residents were stunned to find out that what they have been eating are parts of wild birds such as marabou storks and pied crows that are very common in the area.

On this particular day, residents were suspicious when they saw a street boy ferrying a sack full of ‘chicken’ parts to a popular vendor. Earger and impatient, the locals trailed the street boy, and upon delivering the ‘cargo’ they ordered the vendor to open it up.

“Ang’oma nyathino omiyi e gunia ma iriyori mana gi pande ni, Ok itnag’ nwa wane anee ni en ang’o ma ochala chala gwen ni (What is in the sack, which the street boy has given you. The speed, with which you have kept it away, is suspect. Can you open it so that we see what it is? It looks like pieces of chicken…)

The vendor declined to open the sack. The curious residents passed the word across the neighbourhood. Some of the residents said they have been seeing the boy come to collect money from the vendor, and they suspect some illegal business had been going on.

That is when they decided to lay a trap to unmask the vendor and the street urchin. They waylaid the boy on his way to deliver the goods to the vendor, and forced him to open the sack.

They were shocked beyond belief to see parts of a pied crow, eagles and marabou storks whose parts resemble chicken once they have been deep-fried.

Piqued, they demanded to know from the boy where he gets so many ‘chicken’ parts.

The boy spill beans by revealing that he kills the wild birds using a sling at a nearby dumping sight, before slaughtering them and selling to the vendor.

An old man tickled the fancy of the crowd when he sauntered closer, cleared his throat and calmly wondered: “Idondri nang’o to gini mit ka gweno? Jonairobi osechamo ringo mar punda ndalo mang’eny to pok gi thoo (why are people even complaining, yet this things are as tasty as chicken? After all people in nairobi have been eating donkeys for long, and have never died)!”

Over the last one week, residents have shunned buying chicken parts from the vendor. The vendor and his colleagues are crying foul that life has become unbearable since they can no longer rely on their source of livelihood.