A love-struck Kenyan man is battling charges of threatening to kill a woman who turned down his overtures after she pocketed his Sh10,000 for rent and an additional Sh1000.

50-year old Joel Mecha is accused of uttering the words ‘nitakutoa hio kichwa au motto wako apotee’ (I will remove your head or ensure your child gets lost) to the complainant. The words were interpreted as death threats.

But he denied the charges at the Kibera law courts while insisting the matter arises from a debt the woman owes him.

The conflict between the two started when Mecha reportedly called the woman who works as a cashier at a church to town and gave her a Sh10,000 cheque.

The next day he sent her an additional Sh1000 and told her it was for accepting the cheque.

He is then said to have made calls to the complainant at night which she was not comfortable with and she told him.

He continued calling the complainant, who blocked him, but he then used different numbers to call her.

The two later met at the complainant’s house after Mecha allegedly sent a churchmate to the complainant and upon the meeting he declared that he wanted her to be his lover.

But the 32-year-old woman told him she could not get in a relationship with him owing to his age and he left disappointed before he later made the alleged threats.

Senior resident magistrate Charles Mwaniki released him on a cash bail of Sh15,000.

The case will be mentioned on September 6.