Mystery of Tiriki torch ritual that overshadowed Jirongo's burial

Pallbearers carry the casket bearing the body of the late former Lugari MP Cyrus Jirongo, during the requiem mass at CITAM, Valley Road in Nairobi, on December 27, 2025. [Benard Orwongo, Standard

As the late former Lugari Member of Parliament and veteran politician Cyrus Jirongo was laid to rest at his Lumakanda home in Kakamega County on Tuesday, the ceremony evolved into a powerful convergence of culture, politics, and lingering questions over the circumstances of his death.

While hundreds of mourners gathered to bid farewell to the once influential political strategist, it was the invocation of traditional Tiriki and broader Luhya cultural rites, particularly the symbolism of a burning torch, that dominated proceedings and ignited national debate.

But what exactly is the mystery behind the Tiriki torch?

The famed Tiriki torch is believed to be a conduit through which the deceased can seek truth and justice from the spirit world if their death was unnatural.

The torch experiment drew a lot of debate and attention with the issue raising anxiety and fear from a section of leaders amid questions of alleged foul play over Jirongo’s death.

According to persons familiar with the tradition, burying a murdered person with a torch is meant to empower the departed spirit to pursue those responsible for their death.

The ritual symbolically allows the hunt for truth to continue both day and night, with the torch acting as light that serves as an instrument of retribution upon encountering the alleged killers.

Believers in the ritual hold that the climax of the spiritual pursuit is marked by the torch extinguishing on its own, a moment said to coincide with the perpetrator’s suffering grave misfortune, including death, madness or devastating personal loss.

Though it remained unclear whether Jirongo was ultimately buried with the torch inside his coffin, the symbolism surrounding it was impossible to ignore.

Former Westlands MP and burial committee chairman Fred Gumo emerged as one of the most vocal proponents of the cultural rites, making startling claims during the funeral.

Gumo said elders from the Tiriki community had already performed rituals and insisted that those responsible for Jirongo’s death would face dire consequences.

“I was perplexed because the torch of the Tiriki is working miracles. Those who had a hand in Jirongo’s death will go one by one. Do not worry about it,” said Gumo.

In remarks that shocked mourners, Gumo claimed that the bus allegedly involved in the fatal accident was still parked at Naivasha Police Station and that its lights had been mysteriously switching on by themselves, frightening police officers.

“The bus that killed him, its lights keep switching on at the station. Police officers are scared,” he alleged, fuelling speculation and deepening suspicion around the accident narrative.

Kakamega governor Fernandes Barasa adopted a cautious but supportive stance, saying that while the family and leaders awaited justice through formal investigations, the Tiriki community should be allowed to perform its cultural obligations.

“As we wait for justice, let the Tiriki community do their work,” Barasa said, before posing a rhetorical question to mourners: “Do you support the Tiriki to do their thing? Should it work? Should it look for the killers?”

He added, “We must push for the revelation of what killed one of our iconic sons and leaders of the Luhya nation.”

His remarks were met with cheers from sections of the crowd.

Former Vihiga senator George Khaniri took an even firmer position, defending the rituals and warning against public discussion of their details.

“The Tiriki performed their culture, and no one is allowed to talk about it. What we did is very powerful and has consequences,” said Khaniri.

He insisted that seeking justice for Jirongo was unavoidable, hinting at spiritual retribution.

“You cannot talk about what was done, yet we want revenge. It is impossible. Watch as we all wait for the rituals to work,” he said.

Khaniri declined to confirm whether Jirongo was buried with a torch, saying that was “a story for another day.”

On Monday, a day before the burial, Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale arrived at Jirongo’s homestead adorned in traditional regalia and carrying a torch.

During the burial, however, family members called for a private burial where the only people who were allowed were family members, a few selected friends of Jirongo’s and several Tiriki elders.

Jirongo, 64, died on December 13 after his vehicle was involved in a head-on collision with a bus along the Nairobi–Nakuru Highway near Karai area in Naivasha.

Police reports indicated that he succumbed to severe blunt force trauma sustained in the crash.