Man sends away mother-in-law in style

By Mkala Mwaghesha

The festive season at the end of every year is full of surprises from what people do in the name of merrymaking.

However, what was witnessed recently in Kapsimotwa Village, Bomet County, broke the record.

Kipchomber was tired of his mother-in-law’s prolonged stay but he did not know what to do. Apparently, she had visited his young family early in December but did not leave ‘as expected’.

 In this place, a mother-in-law is so revered that a son-in-law cannot even shake her hand, let alone talk to her directly, meaning he was walking around on eggshells in his home.

Even worse, Kipchomber had outstretched his meager earnings ‘entertaining’ his visiting mother-in-law.

Hooves

He slaughtered a goat for her on arrival but even after ‘eating the head and the hooves’, she still did not go back to her home. ‘Eating the head and hooves’ is a metaphor to explain visitors who overstay their welcome.

On Christmas day, Kipchomber slaughtered a cock and went to the shopping centre to ‘eat Christmas’ by sipping one or two beers. He is not a regular drinker but the type who only drink during this festive period.

Unfortunately, Kipchomber took one too many and before noon, he was singing songs normally reserved for adventurous teenagers locked in a dark hut at night imbibing illegal substances.

Fellow drinkers were so amused by his antics that some were heard wishing he could become a regular drinker because he turned out to be such fun.

Somehow, it crossed his inebriated brain that his mother-in-law had become a pest and now that he was high as a rocket, he had the guts to face her.

Taboo

He arrived home calling out her name, a taboo among the Kipsigis, and asking what else she wanted.

“I slaughtered a goat when you came and you ate even the hooves! I no longer see a chicken around my compound because you are the Kipunpung’it (mongoose) in my house!” he shouted.

Then in his drunkenness, he took off his shirt so that neighbours could see how ‘thin’ he had grown since the arrival of the ‘Kipunpung’it’.

Well, the trick worked because his mother-in-law left the next day swearing she would never set foot in his house again.

The next morning, when told what had transpired, Kipchomber also swore he would never drink again, but his friends know that the oath will only hold until the next Christmas.