Shock as Garissa man forced to swallow 4-inch nail amid rising insecurity

In the recent past, Garissa town has been taken over by criminals with gangs on the rampage, terrorising residents even in broad daylight.

The town and Madogo in the neighbouring Tana River County have continued to record cases of gangs unleashing terror on residents with abandon.

Garissa has Squad Chafu, a local teen gang, while their Koyale counterparts continue reigning terror on residents of Mororo and Madogo.

But it is the recent incident in Garissa town in which a man was attacked and forced to swallow a nail in exchange for his life that has sent chills down the spines of many residents.

For Daniel Musyoka, 38, breathing itself is now a painful reminder of the night thugs gave him a choice: swallow a four-inch nail or die.

Musyoka, a casual laborer in Garissa town, was walking home from work at around 7 pm on October 26, when he was accosted by men armed with pangas, at Madogo, in the neighbouring Tana River County.

“I saw four men on the road with their faces covered. They were two on either side and immediately I got closer one pulled a panga and ordered me to stop,” Musyoka said from his hospital bed.

“They asked me to hand them everything from my pockets. I gave them the Sh420 I had and four sticks of cigarettes. But things got thick for me when they asked for more cash,” he narrated.

“Then one of them pulled out a nail and ordered me to choose between swallowing it or being cut into pieces starting with my hands. I was shocked. I didn’t know what to do and fearing for my life, I chose the nail.”

He was handed the four-inch nail which he swallowed under the supervision of the machete-wielding gang.

“My hands trembling, I tried to be steady and smeared saliva on it. I tried as much as possible to direct it down my throat. They left after confirming it had gone down.”

A tensed Musyoka walked home and quickly drank cooking oil to speed up movement of the nail in the digestive system.

“Back home we give cooking oil to children when they swallow something hard before seeking medication. I remembered this intervention and drank a good amount of it,” he said.

Interestingly, Musyoka never bothered to report his ordeal to the police but instead woke up the following day and returned to his place of work.

On Friday, four days later, he walked to Garissa County Referral hospital where he was admitted after an x-ray showed a nail lodged in his lower abdomen.

“He reported that he swallowed a nail. Examination has shown a foreign body within the digestive system that has travelled 90 percent of the gut,” Dr Naibei Abdon, a surgeon at Garissa County Referral Hospital said.

“The foreign object is within the lumen of the large bowel most notably the sigmoid colon,” the doctor said.

The sigmoid colon is an S-shaped section of the large intestine located in the lower-left part of the abdomen, connecting the colon to the rectum.

According to the doctor, Musyoka is out of danger since he continued passing stool, he was not in pain and he feeds normally.

“We are watching and waiting because the foreign body is aligned, a sign that it will come out by itself. The patient shall be well,” Doctor Naibei said, ruling out a possibility of having Musyoka undergo surgery to remove the nail.

After Musyoka’s ordeal was highlighted on social media, police led by Bangale Sub County Criminal Investigation Officer Micheal Lemayan visited him on Monday almost a week after the harrowing experience.

“We have recorded his statement despite him failing to report the incident to police and we will continue with investigations,” Mr Lemayan said.

The doctor said If a nail passes smoothly through the digestive system in a matter of hours or a day or two, it usually does not have enough time to develop a thick layer of rust. However, if multiple nails or a foreign object gets lodged or stays in the stomach or gut for days or weeks, they are frequently found to be corroded or rusted upon removal.

“The nail could rust because both oxygen and moisture are available. The internal fluids and secretions of the gastrointestinal tract provide the necessary moisture and electrolytes to trigger oxidation (rusting),” the doctor explained.

Amos Aura, another victim of the gang attack who is also admitted at Garissa County Referral Hospital with a fractured leg, says he was accosted by teenagers armed with machetes.

“I had just alighted from a motorcycle at around 6am after it developed a mechanical problem. Immediately I started walking away, a gang of about six ordered me to stop. I fought them but still lost my phone and cash. One of them hit my right leg with a club sending me to the ground,” he said.

Aura now needs Sh40,000 to have his leg fitted with a metal to help regain stability.

“My friends have been contributing but we are yet to get enough funds to enable me to undergo surgery. I need Sh40,000,” he said.

Just like Wambua, Aura did not report the incident to the police, arguing that he did not know his attackers.

Another incident is that of the murder of a 24-year-old boda boda rider whose body was found five days after he disappeared. His motorcycle was reported missing, pointing to a possible robbery turned killing.

The deceased, Jackson Wambua, was last seen in Garissa town on Monday October 26, 2026, according to his friends.

The following day, Wambua failed to show up at his usual boda boda stage in the town, raising concerns among his colleagues.

“It was very unusual for Wambua to fail to show up for two days yet he had not told us of any plan to travel outside the town,” his friend Dennis Muteti said.

According to Muteti, Wambua has operated a boda boda for four years in Garissa town and never reported any incident of danger to his life.

“He was once married but later got separated. His wife left for Mombasa and they took their child back home. He comes from Nguni in Mwingi,” Muteti said.

According to his colleagues, Wambua was always on phone either talking to some lady or chatting on WhatsApp.

“Before he disappeared, he looked a little disturbed but denied having an issue with a woman. He said it was about repaying a loan for his motorcycle,” another colleague said, requesting anonymity.

Wambua had obtained a motorcycle from a credit financing institution that provides financing options for used cars and motorcycles.

By the time he was reported missing, he owed the credit firm Sh8000 in arrears, but he was set to clear the loan by January next year.

Erick Mbasa, a long-time friend to Wambua and neighbour, said he hosted him after he was kicked out of his house over rent arrears.

“I stayed with him for about two weeks after his house was locked by our landlord. We operate from the same stage and I left him in the house on Monday morning but he never returned in the evening,” he said.

Mbasa added, “After he went missing, I called his brother on Wednesday inquiring to know if he had travelled back home without informing me.”

It was on Saturday morning that Mbasa and fellow boda boda riders received the shocking news of Wambua’s death.

The body was found at Modika, about 15 kilometers from town. Due to its bad state since it appeared to have been mauled by wild animals, physical identification was difficult.

“We only identified him by the clothes he wore on Monday morning when I left the house. His brother identified him by his teeth. His body was damaged,” he said.

“We have always been a brother’s keeper. When my house is locked over rent, I move into his and when he is locked out, he comes to me and that is how we have been living,” Mbasa added.

Joseph Mutunga, elder brother to the deceased, said they suspected a man whose ex-wife Wambua was having an affair with may have been involved in the killing.

“My brother has been having an affair with a woman who separated from her husband and this man has been threatening him. The woman involved left Garissa for Nairobi when things got worse,” Mutunga said.

"He's at the mortuary"

According to Mutunga, the woman in question called their sister on Wednesday asking her to find Wambua at the hospital’s mortuary.

“My brother’s death is linked to this love affair. How did a woman now living in Nairobi ask my sister to go find my brother’s body in the mortuary after he had gone missing on Monday last week?” Mutunga posed.

Garissa sub-County Criminal Investigation Officer Daniel Muhuhi said after discovery, the body was taken to Garissa County Hospital mortuary.

“We received a report of a missing person and later a body was found in Modika and brought to Garissa Referral Hospital. Relatives identified it as that of a reported missing person but we want to have DNA done to prove the same because it remains in bad state,” Muhuni said.

According to the police, preliminary investigations indicate Wambua was killed and his motorcycle stolen. The suspect in the case is a fellow boda boda rider within Garissa town.

“Investigations into this matter are active. We have managed to track the victim’s motorcycle and a raid is being planned to recover it from where it is being hidden,” he said.

Mr Muhuhi said police were yet to establish the motive for Wambua’s killing, adding that other crime incidents were also being investigations with the view of cracking down on the gang.

Follow our WhatsApp channel for breaking news updates and more stories like this.