Saloon met his Kikuyu wife at school. She is now in hiding.

Saloon Ole Mewet from Ngong in southern Kenya said his spouse attacked him in his sleep. "She bit me and removed all of it," he told the BBC's Muchiri Kioi.

His shouts raised the alarm and he was taken to a local hospital by his neighbours where he received stitches.

It is an unusual admission, as Maasai men, who often beat their wives, do not like to lose face before their community.

"If you do not beat your wife it's taken that you're a hen-pecked husband, which is not allowed in our community," Maasai elder Johnson Ole Sipitiek told the BBC's Network Africa programme.

But Mr Mewet, who has reported the incident to the police, said he was so overcome with pain that he could not help but make a noise.

Unprecedented

On the evening of the assault, Mr Mewet returned home at 2200 and was beaten up by his wife just after he drifted off to sleep.

I don't know why she complained when I got another girlfriend Saloon Ole Mewet

After hitting her husband and knocking out his front teeth, Mrs Mewet bit off his testicles and despite his struggles when he awoke, chewed off his penis.

"I don't have a penis now," he explained, showing the BBC's reporter his wound.

Mr Mewet admitted he did have a girlfriend, but said he was at a loss to understand his wife's actions as she was aware that he had other girlfriends when they got married.

"She knew that I had many girlfriends, and I don't know why she complained when I got another girlfriend," he said.

According to Mr Mewet, castration is unprecedented in Maasai culture, as there is no traditional punishment.

"If you kill somebody you must pay 49 cows, even if you've removed somebody's tooth - it's one sheep. But this has never happened to a Maasai," he said.

Mr Mewet said he was left with no option but to pursue an action against his wife through the courts.