60 naked elders perform ritual to curse Kenyan witches

Elders have hit back at suspected witches who dumped goats’ body parts in various schools recently.

The more than 60 elders in Tharaka Constituency, who stripped down to their birthday suits, conducted the elaborate ritual at River Gakurume in Tharaka South sub-county.

The “witches”, who have not been identified, shocked the local community after metal boxes containing goat heads and horns were dumped in four schools a month ago shortly before Chuka/Igambang’ombe MP Muthomi Njuki started to distribute metal boxes to students who were to join Form One.

The ‘bewitched’ boxes were found at Marimanti, Gituri, Rwatha and Mukothima primary schools a week before the MP gave out the boxes.

Many suspected the bizarre incident was intended to frighten the students and make them to reject the gift boxes from the MP who has declared his intention to vie for the governor’s seat in 2017.

STRIPPED NAKED

The elders, representing 32 Tharaka clans, arrived at the river at around 4am, stripped naked and then said prayers while facing Mount Kenya. They also burnt Sodom apples and threw dry branches of selected trees into the river.

The ritual, locally known as “gwikia nduuka”, which is usually done by naked clan elders, was performed after the community agreed that those behind the act should be made to pay for their sins.

Burning Sodom apples and throwing dry branches into the river is believed to be a way of cursing wrongdoers and those who do not ask for forgiveness after betraying the community.

They also sang songs cursing those responsible for the abhorrent act.

The elders warned after conducting the ritual, that those who distributed the boxes will face bad omens such as accidents, deaths or even become mad.

“We had given them an ultimatum which ended on Friday last week but by that time nobody had apologised to the community. We do not care who they might be,” an elder told journalists after the ritual that lasted for hours.