Franklin Mironga inspects his mother's grave at their home in Nyagonyi, Marani Sub-County, Kisii on February 1, 2023. Image/Brian Achaka.
By: Brian Achaka
Worth Noting:
- Kerubo Abuya, the Conceptor-Uongozi Wa Utu Initiative explains why there is need to document bizarre killings of the elderly women on allegations of practicing witchcraft.
- “I’m not aware of any formal research studies that have been conducted on this issue within Kisii and Nyamira. However, it won’t be farfetched to indicate that thousands of people have been harmed physically, emotionally, psychologically, socially, economically and others murdered after being accused of practicing witchcraft”
- In addition she highlights the kind of people that are mostly targeted by a mob of young men who are after land and possessions.
It is noon when we arrive in Nyagonyi village, in Mbanda, home of Jemima Mironga, who was murdered in cold blood, on allegations of practicing witchcraft in Marani sub- county.
We find her son Franklin Mironga under a shade in the almost deserted homestead, lost in deep thought.
His face lights up on seeing us, the home seldom receive guests since the incident that robbed them of their parent.
He narrates in detail what transpired the fateful day his mom was massacred by a mob in broad daylight. He says he received the news of her death while at work in Kisii town.
“When I heard the news, I rushed home, only to be met by a mob that chased us away, together with my siblings. They stole all our cows, timber and iron sheets that were in the house”.
He sadly remembers how the mob later torched the house after robbing them of everything.
Geoffrey is another victim whose mother Agnes Moraa was killed on suspicion of bewitching someone’s child in the village. He says his mother had suffered mental illness.
“My mom was mentally unstable; she could wander miles away only to return a day later or later in the night. What worries me is the way she was killed, on allegations of practicing witchcraft” he says
Utu Coalition’s Dr. Kerubo Abuya explains why there is need to document bizarre killings of the elderly women.
“I’m not aware of any formal research or studies that have been conducted on this issue within Kisii and Nyamira.
However, it won’t be farfetched to indicate that tens of families have been harmed physically, emotionally, psychologically, socially, economically and others murdered after being accused of practicing witchcraft”
She says the elderly and widows are vulnerable to these attacks that are mainly linked to land inheritance and other possessions.
“The Gusii community needs to realize and acknowledge that we have a serious problem of violence and killings of older persons and others after accusing them of practicing witchcraft”, she said.
Orphans and children born out of wedlock are not spared either, especially boys who are poised to inherit land from their host parents.
“As a coalition, we have embarked on advocating for human rights and protection of the affected families. We have also put up strategies aimed at sensitizing the society on myths that they must abandon to have a peaceful co-existence”, Dr Abuya said.
She added, “We need more humane and courageous leaders who will say what needs to be said instead of putting their self-interest above the needs of their constituents. As Utu Coalition we have started engaging cultural and religious leaders and the response is positive”.
Mbanda Sub-Location Assistant Chief, Evans Nyabiba, enumerates the interventions taken to secure the area.
“We immediately took action by mobilizing community policing and the police, all the security agencies are on the alert to ward off similar occurrences.
The administrator asked the public to avoid taking the law in their own hands and instead report their suspicions to authorities.
He vowed that the government will deal with anyone found in breach of the law.
“If anyone is being accused and they have the evidence, they should report to the chief, Nyumba kumi elder and follow all laid down avenues.. Nobody is allowed to take away life and those who break the law, will face dire consequences”, he warned.
Kisii County has witnessed a sharp rise in killings of elderly widows, according to a report of the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR).
The report documents several cases of violence targeting the aged and identifies Muranga, Nyamira, and Kilifi as the other counties facing similar challenges.
The report highlights incidents in 2021 where four women were attacked and burnt to death in Marani Sub-County over allegations of practicing witchcraft.
Youths are identified as the main perpetrators, motivated by the desire to inherit land and fueled by perception that widows have no right to land or any wealth left by deceased spouses.
The report further indicates, that women face stigma and are regarded as a bad omen, believed to bring misfortune such as strange diseases and accidents.
This trend has exposed the elderly to live in fear; opting for safe havens away from home.
It is noon when we arrive in Nyagonyi village, in Mbanda, home of Jemima Mironga, one of the victims who were killed over allegations of practicing witchcraft in Marani sub-County. Here we find her son Franklin Mironga sitting in a shade carried in deep thoughts.
He suddenly brightens up since he seldomly receives visitors since the incident that robbed them of their parent. Here he narrates to us in detail what transpired during that fateful day when his mom got massacred by a mob in broad daylight.
Franklin recounts the events of that fateful morning when he received the shocking news of his mother’s death while he had gone to work in the nearby Kisii town.
“When I heard the news, I speeded home only to be chased away together with my siblings by an angry mob. They stole all our cows, timber and iron sheets that were in the house”.
He reminds us that they later came again to burn down the house that remained during the first incident.
Geoffrey is the son to Agnes Moraa who was also killed over suspicion of bewitching someone’s child in the village. He says his mother was mentally sick.
“My mom was mentally unwell, she could wander away only to return a day later. what worries me is the way she killed on allegations of practicing witchcraft” he narrated.
Dr. Kerubo Abuya, the Conceptor-Uongozi Wa Utu Initiative explains why there is need to document bizarre killings of the elderly women on allegations of practicing witchcraft.
“I’m not aware of any formal research studies that have been conducted on this issue within Kisii and Nyamira. However, it won’t be farfetched to indicate that thousands of people have been harmed physically, emotionally, psychologically, socially, economically and others murdered after being accused of practicing witchcraft”
In addition she highlights the kind of people that are mostly targeted by a mob of young men who are after land and possessions.
“The Gusii community needs to realize and acknowledge that we have a serious problem of violence and killings of older persons and others after accusing them of practicing witchcraft”
Ophans and children born out of wedlock are not spared either especially boys who are poised to inherit land from their host parents.
As a coalition, they have embarked on advocating for human rights and protection of the affected families. We have also put up strategies aimed at educating the society on myths that they must abandon to have a peaceful co-existence.
“We need more humane and courageous leaders who will say what needs to be said instead of putting their self-interest above the need to help their constituents. As Utu Coalition have started engaging cultural and religious leaders and the response has been positive”
Mbanda Sub-Location Assistant Chief, Evans Nyabiba, remembers the interventions they took as the administration to secure the area.
“We immediately took action by mobilizing community policing and the police, all the security agencies were present to beef up security and return to normalcy”.
The administrator said that if anyone is accused of any wrong, they should be present to the police with evidence instead of taking the law in their own hands or take the matter to court.
He vowed that the government will take stern action will be taken upon those who are not following what the law says while asking the residents to make use of all avenues of settling disputes as laid down by the government.
“If anyone is being accused and they have the evidence, they should report to the chief, Nyumba kumi elder and all laid down avenues by law. So nobody is allowed to take away life and those who break the law, stern action will be taken against them”.
Kisii County has witnessed a sharp rise in killings of elderly widows, according to a report of the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR). The report documents several cases of violence targeting the aged and identifies Muranga, Nyamira, and Kilifi as the other counties facing similar challenges.
The report highlights incidents in 2020 where four women were attacked and burnt to death in Marani Sub-County over allegations of practicing witchcraft.
Youths have singled out as the main perpetrators motivated by the desire to inherit land and fueled by perception that widows have no right to land or any wealth left by deceased spouses.
The report further indicates, that women face stigma and are regarded as a bad omen that are said to bring misfortune such as strange diseases and accidents.
This trend has exposed the elderly to live in fear; which has made to opt for safe havens away from homes.
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