Agony of painful deaths at old-age as 'witch-hunts' rock Coast

Mombasa, Kenya: Mzee Samuel Katana, 64, fights back tears as he lists using his fingers elderly colleagues recently lynched by their relatives in Ngerenyi, a remote village in the coastal county of Kilifi.

“Over 10 of my friends are no more, all accused of being sorcerers. There are very few old men left in my neighbourhood,” he says pensively.

Yet, Mzee Katana is a lucky survivor, having lived his worst nightmare. Last March, two young men hacked him with machetes as he slept, and left him for dead. But the father of five survived the gory attack and recovered at Kilifi District Hospital.

It is only when he arrived home frail after being discharged from hospital that he got a hint as to who wanted him dead and perhaps why. “My step-brothers pounced on me and severely beat me up as other relatives cheered them on. They claimed I was a witch,” a distraught Katana narrates as he reveals cut marks all over his body.

As the eldest son, he became the custodian of his family’s property following the death of his polygamous father. Fearing for his life, he fled after the attack. But soon after he left, he learnt his four step-brothers had sold part of the family’s 12 acre piece of land.

“I am not a witch and will never be. This was just an excuse to chase me away and take over the land,” says Katana.

He talked to The Standard on Saturday at Kaya Godoma, a camp for surviving victims of witch hunts located in Ganze area, Kilifi, where he is currently sheltered alongside 18 other elderly people

Killing of elderly people on grounds of allegedly practising sorcery has rocked parts of the Kenyan Coast in recent years, with Kilifi, Kwale and Lamu counties being the most affected.

But The Standard on Saturday can reveal that most of the ‘witch lynchings’ are indeed schemed by residents or relatives hell-bent on inheriting property from the elderly amid rising demand for land.

Some young men are said to be killing their aged grandparents, and even parents, to avoid supporting them, if not become direct recipients of payments from sale of coconuts among other cash crops.

Multiple gangs

So grave is the situation that at least 400 elderly people, mainly men and widows, are reported to have been lynched in Kilifi alone in the past four years, 61 of them in 2013. Another 43 have died so far, two of them last weekend. All victims were accused, but not proven, to be sorcerers.

While relatives are said to plot most of the murders, multiple gangs for hire are said to be on standby to execute persons pinpointed by relatives. “All the gangs need is Sh4,000, and a goat to cleanse themselves after the murder,” reveals Teddy Mwambire, a Kilifi Member of County Assembly, leading a campaign against the killings.

He claims some families hang their elderly relatives knowing the deaths will easily pass as suicide. In the north coast region, where witchcraft is widely practised even by young people, death, sickness, unemployment, accidents, marital problems are all blamed on sorcery among the elderly, providing an excuse to kill them.

Dyed hair

So endangered are the elderly that some have sought refuge miles away from home while others have dyed their hair black to disguise their age. Sources reveal that land left behind is easily disposed of since here land transfers majorly involve witnesses and not title deeds.

Sadaka Muruu, 65, who owned 12 acres of land in Matanomanne area in Kilifi, survived death by a whisker shortly after investors inquired about purchasing her land four years ago. Accused of sorcery by a co-wife and her children, the widow was stripped, beaten and frog-marched to the local DO’s office where she was to be burnt alive by residents who overpowered the police.

Luckily, Mwambire arrived in time to sneak her out to Kaya Godoma. Sadaka’s land has since been taken over by relatives. But it is Mzee Kahindi Mramba who best exemplifies the situation. He recalls how in early 2012, he refused to surrender his two acres of land, which his two sons wanted to sell in collusion with his wife. What followed shocked him: “Out of the blues, they claimed I was a witch, tied me to a tree and beat me up. But I managed to escape from a hut where I was to be burnt alive,” he states.

Despite the fact that the 80-year-old fled with his title deed, he last year learnt that half an acre of his land had been sold. But as fate would have it, the buyer sensed something was amiss and successfully embarked on a mission to look for Mramba.

“He informed me that he inquired about me but my family told him I was dead. He was sold the land at Sh181,000 and proceeded to pay Sh71,000,” he explains. “When he learnt that I was alive, he vowed not to pay the balance unless I am involved”. Mramba, however, fears  the land will still be illegally sold in his absence.

Mzee Kenga Charo, a Kaya elder who runs Kaya Godoma, says some young men have been openly making death threats to old folks seeking refuge in his centre, most of whom have opposed sale of their land.

“Some come here and swear to kill their parents if they refuse to subdivide land among them; all they want are overnight riches,” states Charo.

The Government admits to have been duped into buying the witchcraft theory: “Every time an aged person is killed by a mob, we have been told it is about witchcraft. But that is not the case; it is all about property and marital problems,” says Vincent Kibaara, Vitengeni DO.

He explains that with the mega port development project in neighbouring Lamu, and the high mining prospects in Kilifi - an area rich in titanium, manganese, zinc and tin, the demand for land has skyrocketed; but the elderly do not want to sell it. “All the young men want is to eliminate them and sell the land,” reveals Kibaara.

The DO says with no one reporting the deaths, it has taken time to unearth the collusion among families. “Some claim they are selling land to offset a relative’s hospital bill but upon investigations, we realise it is not true,” says Kibaara.

He says most victims rarely report threats to their lives, making it hard for authorities to intervene and save them. To deal with the problem, Kibaara says administrators have imposed a curfew on land sale. “We want to interrogate all land sale to know which land is being sold and why,” he reveals.

Successful prosecutions

Kilifi County Police Commander, James Kithuka, says conspiracy among relatives has made successful prosecutions for the murders nearly impossible.

“Police need concrete evidence to prove murder. When no one reports the cases and no one volunteers as a witness, police remain with no chance of proving guilt,” he says, adding that a number of cases are pending in court.

Citing police investigations, the commander concurs that nearly all reported deaths had nothing to do with sorcery but inheritance and sharing of property. He says proceeds from land sale are used purchase motorbikes for use in the boda boda business.

Kithuka singles out Malindi, Kaloleni, Magarini, Kilifi, Ganze and Rabai as the worst affected sub counties. He concurs that 61 elderly people were lynched last year in the county but says only 14 had suffered similar as of June this year. “At some point last year, I would receive between three and five cases every week,” he says.

The commander advises the elderly to share some of their land among their adult sons early enough to avert the deadly disputes.