09/01/2026
In 1987, a Luo trader named Alseba Oruko from Sidho in Kano was arrested and taken to court after selling omena to a group of villagers from Kaptumo in Nandi County, allegedly claiming that the small fish were "fish seeds" which, if planted, would grow into tilapia.
Believing they had discovered an innovative farming idea, the villagers planted omena instead of maize during that planting season.
The matter later attracted the attention of the Department of Criminal Investigations, then known as the CID.
Alseba was traced to Awasi, arrested, and subsequently arraigned in court.
In her defence, Alseba argued that the incident arose from a language barrier and that the villagers had misunderstood her explanation.
She stated that many of the women she sold omena to complained that their husbands disliked the fish or its smell.
She therefore advised them to hide the omena tins in their farms, using the phrase "una panda kwa shamba," where panda was a verb derived from the Luo word pando, meaning "to hide."
The court found no criminal intent on her part, and she was acquitted.
Copied from Owalla.
゚viralシ
