By Tim Binnall
Fed up with people flocking to see a suspected Marian apparition in his kitchen, a Kenyan man demolished the room to stop the endless parade of onlookers. The odd case reportedly began earlier this month when his wife, Mary Onsombi, was cooking on a charcoal stove at the family's home in the village of Getare. To her profound surprise, the soot that collected on the wall during the meal prep bore an uncanny resemblance, in her eyes, to the Virgin Mary. Onsombi immediately told her friends and neighbors about the wondrous sight, and photos of the perceived miracle soon spread on Kenyan social media.
The following day, hundreds of people descended upon the residence to pray and pay respect to the peculiar pattern that had formed on the wall of the family's kitchen. The massive crowd came as a shock to Mary's husband, Charles, who had been out of town when the suspected apparition was first seen and, upon returning home, expressed skepticism that it was anything particularly supernatural. The doubtful man grew increasingly irritated over the course of the day as seemingly endless waves of people continued arriving at the residence. When night fell, he finally snapped and, using a garden hoe, destroyed the stand-alone kitchen, Marian apparition and all.
"He said his wife had turned his home into a market," one neighbor explained, "he was overwhelmed by the crowds and warned everyone not to set foot in his compound again." To that end, when throngs of faithful individuals arrived at the residence the following day and found the kitchen reduced to rubble, Charles threatened them with a machete while sarcastically offering them pieces of the debris as a proverbial holy souvenir. "He has turned wild, chasing everybody on sight," another neighbor lamented, "he says that there is no image of the Virgin Mary in his kitchen.” It would appear the message was received as the crowds dwindled over the following days until, to Charles' relief, peace finally returned to the property.