Five tribes set to hold cultural prayers

By JOB WERU

Kenya: Scores of traditionalists from the Kikuyu, Mijikenda, Maasai, Luo and Meru communities will Friday hold prayers on Mt Kenya to mark the annual cultural prayers.

They will travel in vehicles marked with sky-blue ribbons and will circle the mountain, in the event celebrated every December 27.

Ms Ruth Njoroge Enkeseni, one of the organisers of the national event, said the teams will drive around the mountain anti-clockwise and will have stopovers as they continue with the religious expedition.

“This is our Jubilee year and we want to intercede to God to liberate us. We want to pray to God collectively that He grants us prosperity in all that we want to achieve,” she said.

She noted that the prayers, which will include people of all ages, will also involve asking God to help the young ones to make reasonable decisions.

“They (youth) are confused. They do not know what they want. Most of them are finding solace in drugs and other voices, and we hope that our prayers will help them make lasting decisions,” said Enkeseni.

She noted that the prayers are now a national event and exuded confidence that Kenyans from various communities will participate.

“It is a national event because God is overall. We are not going out of line. We are praying for our country, the Constitution and the people of Kenya. This is not a community affair,” said Enkeseni.

During the event’s pupilage stages, the government used to deploy troops of heavily armed General Service Unit and anti-riot police along the route who stopped the worshippers midway and searched them.

The security officers claimed that the dreaded Mungiki adherents could take advantage of the national event that was initiated by the Gikuyu and Mumbi Cultural Museum, through its director, Prof Samuel Kamitha, to administer their oaths in the mountain.

The prayers are held annually and for the past three years, members of various communities have been visiting the mountain.

And within the period, Kenya’s Constitution was mounted at Point Lenana, the third highest point in Kenya, while on December 12 this year, a team of Kenya Wildlife Service rangers hoisted the Kenyan flag at Point Batian (the highest point in the country at 5,199 metres above sea level) to mark 50 years of independence.