A schoolteacher has almost died a tragic death in public while taking part in an eating contest to rake in some money.
Paul Sang’ a Kenyan schoolteacher from Kipkelion District, Kericho County has narrowly escaped death.
The man survived death by a whisker after he choked on dry bread during an eating contest a fortnight ago.
According to SDE, the teacher who was tired of using his lowly, out-of-vogue Nokia 3310 and desperate to upgrade to a more serious phone, threw his hat in the ring to battle it out with other five contestants for a smartphone, which was the ultimate prize.
The youthful tutor is said to have defied pleas from his seniors who begged him not to participate in the challenge, fearing it would taint the image of the teaching profession.
“Mwalimu, this thing (eating competition) is beneath you. Leave such things to villagers. We’d rather do a small fundraiser for you, if it’s a smartphone you desperately need,” one of his colleagues is quoted to have pleaded with him in vain.
SDE reports that the defiant teacher, determined to own a smartphone so that he, like his colleagues, could tweet and facebook, insisted on joining the contest, which was sponsored by an upcoming supermarket in Kericho Town.
“Guys, I need your support to win this thing. Not rebukes please,” the teachers is quoted as having told two of his colleagues with whom he was strolling in the town.
When the starting whistle was blown, dignity took a back seat as the distinguished civil servant slugged it out with villagers, amid wild cheers from locals. Hell, however, broke lose minutes after the teacher literally bit more than he could chew.
It didn’t take long before he ran short of saliva and began to weirdly contort his face as he struggled to swallow a huge chunk of bread he had bit.
It took the intervention of his embarrassed colleagues to save him. With his dignity gone to the dogs, they spread him out on the ground, forced copious amounts of water down his throat as tickled onlookers helped to fan him for fresh air.
The competition took a small break but went on later after the organisers changed the rules of the game and included soda to help contestants wash down the bread.
News that a teacher had almost lost his life trying to win a phone spread all over and he has since been the talk of town, with some locals calling upon Teachers Service Commission to improve the welfare of tutors.
