Former K24 journalist Caleb Karuga recalled how he was chased from a farm he had leased for farming in Kilifi County.

Karuga, who resorted to farming after departing from the newsroom, revealed he leased a farm in Kilifi county without conducting due diligence only to be chased away “like a dog” and ended up losing a lot of money.

Narrating the incident on a past X post,  the Wendy Farms founder revealed he wanted to expand his farming venture to the coast after realizing there was a  big demand for vegetables like amaranth (terere/mchicha) in the region.

He would later partner with a former primary schoolmate and leased 6 acres of land, which they paid half and promised to clear the balance in a few months.

His dream to become a millionaire from the venture was cut short when harvest season neared after a disagreement with the woman who had leased the land to him.

”I was calculating how I would be the next millionaire; I buy a beach plot in Malindi, build a house with a picket fence, white horse, a Jeep Wrangler and all that. I will admit the progress was amazing! We knew Jehovah was about to wipe away our sweat,” he said.

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According to him, the guardian of the ladies they had leased land from started saying the farm was doing so well they would love a small piece to plant some okra vegetables.

Things took a different turn when he fired his farmhand after coming to the farm drunk. Angered, the farmhand nearly killed the journalist and his partner using a panga, but they managed to flee the scene.

“He got hold of my partner and was almost throwing her in the well that we drew water from! A caretaker who used to live on the land intervened. I ducked a panga aimed at my head! Next was one aimed at my groin area,”  Karuga recalled.

The following day, they returned to the farm with six policemen, where the caretaker and their farmhand ganged up and claimed that Karuga and his partner wanted to kill them.

When the two called the ladies who owned the land, they were ordered to take their belongings and vacate the farm immediately.

“Now, how do you uproot terere and spinach on 3 acres and bring them to Nairobi? How?” he questioned.

Since there was no signed contract, the farmer said he could not take any legal action against them. They left the land and boarded a Coast Bus back to Nairobi.

“With no legal redress, since there was no legally binding lease agreement, we left the land. I boarded a Coast Bus back to Nairobi. Once we passed Mtito Andei, I broke down at the back of the bus,” he added.

Karuga warned farmers against getting into deals without conducting due diligence