Day fire at Meru lodging smokes out unfaithful partners

By Joseph Muchiri

Meru, Kenya: There was drama at a guest house in a town on the Embu–Meru Highway after clients fled out of the facility naked following a fire scare.

The town had been calm as people moved about their businesses normally while several motorists parked their vehicles in the front of the guest house as others left.

Next to the guest house is an eatery known for mouth-watering goat ribs where both private and public service vehicles stop, making it hard to tell who checks in at the lodging.

Suddenly the peace of the town was shattered by screams of “fire, fire!” coming from inside the guest house and a cloud of smoke billowing to the sky. The residents and travellers who rushed there to put out the fire and rescue the occupants were shocked to come across almost naked men and women fleeing from the lodging at full speed.

Some were donning only their innerwear, the lucky ones had managed to wrap a towel or bed sheets round their waists while the unlucky ones trotted helter-skelter naked. Some couples had emerged out of their lodging rooms holding hands but when they spotted the crowd, they let go of each other and run away in different directions with some trying to hide their faces. The resulting scene created confusion and rescuers momentarily forgot their mission and gazed at the naked people whose throes of passion had been cut short by the fire outbreak.

More drama was to follow, as  a prominent man was spotted naked leaning on his fuel guzzler, desperately trying to cover his face while screaming out to the lodging attendants to quickly find the keys to his car or they would lose their jobs.

People surrounded him with some sympathising while others condemned him for engaging in extramarital affairs whereas he should be an example to others.

“What was he doing naked at a lodging during the day while his wife is at home looking after his children. And the way he preaches faithfulness in marriages during political rallies,” a woman wondered aloud.

Attention soon shifted to a successful area businessman who angrily confronted a woman who had fled the lodging holding tightly to a small towel that could barely hide her ‘sitting allowance’ and breasts at the same time.

“What were you doing there and who were you with? So you are not faithful to me even though I spend a lot of money to maintain you?” the man screamed to his mistress. More drama unfolded when the man’s wife emerged somewhere from the crowd and grabbed him by the collar saying she had finally caught him red-handed with a mistress!

A fire engine soon roared into vicinity and, with the help of  residents, extinguished the small fire that had started in the kitchen.