A gambler who was refused credit by a casino in Kenya murdered two staff members before he himself was killed by an angry mob outside the casino.
According to local media reports, a Tanzanian gambler identified as John Mchanga became irate after losing around 30k shillings (US $300) to a gambling machine at the City View Bar and Restaurant Casino in Kenya’s capital Nairobi early Tuesday morning.
Mchanga reportedly requested that casino staff offer him credit so he could chase his losses but they declined his request. Mchanga reportedly argued with female staffer Winfred Mbuvi before exiting the casino, only to return a short while later bearing what some reports called a dagger, others a Somali sword (pictured).
According to local police chief Japheth Koome, Mchanga first attacked Mbuvi for turning down his credit request. Another staffer, James Lutea, tried to intervene to protect his colleague, only to become Mchanga’s next victim. A third staff member, Kevin Ogada, also tried to intervene, suffering slashing wounds before Mchanga was chased out of the casino into the street by other gamblers.
The gamblers pursued Mchanga down the street before cornering him, after which the furious crowd began to pelt Mchanga with rocks. Koome said Mchanga was already dead by the time his officers arrived on the scene. Ogada is reportedly in stable condition at a local hospital.
Mchanga’s death by street justice means the world will likely never know what other conditions may have contributed to his mental state at the time of the attack. One witness to the incident told Agence France-Presse that Mchanga was simply “not prepared to lose.”
