Investigative Feature Report By Leo Odera Omolo
It is time someone somewhere in the higher authorities who is bold and brave enough to come forward and stop these extra judicial murder and brutal killings of poor, lonely and aged people in Gusiiland in Kenya’s Nyanza Province.
Statistics recorded from newspaper reports in past indicated that up to 200 people most of them in their advanced age of 80s might have lost their precious lives under the madness of move lynching the allege witches
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The so-called witches are just imaginary, because the real witches or night runners as they are known in other communities neighbouring the Abagusii people are said to be people who are physically fit and strong enough to withstand the chilly wee hours of the night. But not old , poor widows and widowers.
The time therefore is ripe for the Kenyan authority to bring to an immediate end the killings of the innocent people. It has an obligation and responsibility to protect its citizen from being brutally murdered by a bunch of thugs.
The marauding bands of youths have been visiting terror on the innocent people, torching their dwelling houses into ashes and vandalizing property at will. It is time the Kenya government step in and restore sanity an rule of law in the Gusii region.
Almost an equal number of people in their prime life have also perished in the region under the pretext or on suspicion of their alleged linkage to the alarming spate of crimes and violence robberies in this particular region.
Gusii region is the most densely populated with an average of three homesteads occupying an acre of land space. This has sparked off a lot of rivalry within the families and hence the source of hatred and enmities.
The Abagusii are highly reputed as hard working people, particularly in good farming despite of the fact the land is scare in the area.
The enmity most of it originates from long standing and unresolved land cases pending before courts .And the corruptive practices surrounding land cases which are pending in courts or at times biased judgment in relations to such cases.
These serial killings of innocent law abiding and peace loving people in Kisii region are no different to the much highlighted extra- judicial killings by the trigger happy Kenyan policemen
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The Provincial Administration in Nyanza stand blamed for having abdicated its responsibility of protecting Kenyan citizens and for having sanctioned the illegal activities of the so called ‘Sungu Sungu” gangs of outlawed criminal
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These bands of criminal elements know to be operating in Gusii region in parallel with the regular police are responsible for the brutal murder of many people in this region.
Thee Sungu Sungus gangs are committing crime against the peace-loving people as if they are above the law and are so immune of prosecution. The are committing acts of atrocities with full blessing of the Provincial Administration in Nyanza while pretending to be part of the community policing
.
The idea of having community policing to supplement the work of the regular police in flushing out criminal element is good and splendid. It is most welcome and commendable, but those involve in community policing in the interior village must work under the close supervision of chiefs, their assistants and village elders.
They are also required to be men and women of good conduct and clean records which are devoid of any previous convictions in courts of law.
Even the police informer need to be people with clean record of crime and of upright characters.
Instead of policing the villages, these thugs have turned out to the extortionists mafia gangs of hire to kill and terrorists .Why should the government abandon its responsibly of protecting its citizen and allow criminal thugs to carry out heinous acts of executing people in cold blooded murder?
My investigations revealed there is no witches in Gusiiland. The witches culture and cult is alien among the Abagusii people, though it is being practiced in negligent scale in some parts of the region .But mostly and a negligible number of men who had acquired the practices of witchcrafts from the neighbouring Luo-Nyanza understandably at a very exorbitant prices
In isolated case it is being practiced mainly by women ,but this should not warrant the killings and blood letting of that magnitude. Moreover witches are very secretive people. They don’t work in groups hence their secrets are exposed .What is there to go by is the testimony by those whom I had interviewed believes that the is activities of these self- styled groups of thugs out to exploit the community. One old man Mzee Stephen Okemwa of Bogisero village decribed the Sungu S ungu as a gang of trained terrorists whose activities and operations in the villages are prejudicial to peace and tranquility.
The Sungu Sungus outfit have become debt collectors court bellies, police detectives chiefs and assistant chiefs. They are conducting night raids in the homes of suspected criminals independently without the supervision of the administration or police.
They are normally operating during wee hours of the night when the chiefs their assistants, police officers and even village elders are in deep sleep. Who is then supervising their operations in the villages during such odd hours of the night?.
Why are the senior politicians in Gusiiland keeping mum over these killings? Of course I was made to understand that the same gangs of thugs are also being used by politicians as private armies and protectors on hire.
The is so, especially during the elections campaign time, and as such the Sungu Sungu bundits have since become untouchable lots in this particular region of Kenya. No politician is willing to come out in his or her true colour to condmn their criminal activities.
Witchcraft is a sophisticated culture and a cult which is shrouded in top secrecy. Their art is never shared There is no evidence whatsoever that could link the witches to operate collectively in one village. to work together, Each individual or families maintains their experience and knowledge as top secret of lifetime and never shared or revealed to anybody be it a neighbour or a relative.
A married woman who is practicing the witchcraft cult might live her full life together with her husband and family without revealing her fool of work to anybody ,even her own children, if her conscience tells her that these are not the kind of people who can keep the art as a life time secret.
And so it reciprocates the same with a husband who does not trust his wife, though he is practitioner the cult.
In this context, I sincerely believe that those who are dying in Gusii land under the falsified accusation of practicing witchcraft are dying due to well rooted family hatred and enmity. These should be treated as simple cases of cold blooded murder The offender must not be let out of the hook.
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I visited Suneka Township, which is located about six miles south west of Kisii Municipality six years ago where I found some ultra modern business premises burnt to ashes under the guise and claims that the proprietor of those buildings were being suspected of having links with criminal elements.
And the crux of the matter lies on petty jealousies by neignbours If that is the case, the valid argument is that those suspecting them should have reported the matter to the police instead of taking the law into their own hands and vandalizing property worth thousands of shillings. This I believe is the only logical conclusion.
The government, I trust have sufficient number of security agents in the field plus chiefs assistant chiefs ,police informers ,DOs, DCs. These people are getting fat salaries to perform their duties of general administration and governance. These are the right people authorized by law to apprehend or hunt-down criminal elements within the society.
The above category of officials are the people to ensure that peace and tranquility is prevailing everywhere. But strictly not a bunch of criminal thugs like Sungu Ssungu hit squads.The gang is just acting as the group of hired assassins.
It is time the government come out in it true color and crack down the outlawed gangs such as Kebagos. Amachumas ,Chinkororos any private armies owned by politicians. Otherwise if the prevailing insecurity situation is allow to flourish, it would soon spread into other regions and eventually lead to our country being classified by the international community as “ungovernable state” similar to Somalia.
It could be remembered that prior to the 2007 general elections, the Amachuma militia youth under the alleged command of Simon Nyachae attacked and almost killed Hon William Ruto, Hon Omingo Magara if full view of televised action. But to date nobody has ever been booked in court to account for their cowardice action .Why ?
The assault by Amachuma/Chinkororos against Ruto and Magara was staged in day light at a function in South Mugirango Constituency in Gucha district 2007 has made we to believe that the government of Kenya is only conducting prosecutions selectively and not justifiably. In the same area, and during the burial of the late Hon Nyakieya Magara, the Minister for Education Prof. Sam K. Ongeri was attacked and beaten up senselessly and ruthlessly by Amachuma youths outfit. The Minister escaped death by a whisker.
The latest killings of the alleged witches in Mosocho DIvison, Kitutu Chache Constituency has elicited scathing criticism of the Province Administrator in Nyanza for its laxity and insensitiveness on matters concerning the safety and Abagusii people.
The alleged witch hunters, conducting police like operation and swoop in the villages in parallel to the police work must be discouraged. It should be condemned unreservedly by all right thinking Kenyans.
So far the MP for the area Hon Richard Onyonka, who is an Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs had not seen it fit to chip n a comment criticizing or condemning the killing of his constituents. Why?
Why should this be allowed to happen. And the so-called witches hunters are known to be members of Sungu Sungu. Its members are well known to have been authorized to operate with impunity. They beat up people, maim the victims, burnt their houses to ashes and vandalize property unabated. Why should such primitive act be allowed to happen in a modern Kenya?
The law of the land does not allow anybody to take away the precious life a fellow Kenyan unless otherwise it is under the judiciary processes.
The laws of Kenya prohibits anybody from taking away the life of a fellow Kenyan with such impunity like the Sungu Sungus.
While conducting inquiries in Kisii town and its environs ,I not only was puzzled , but shocked to hear disturbing stories how Sungu Sungu gangs at times could be hired by wealthy businessmen and farmers in settling old scores with their neighbours. And even get involved themselves in family feuds, unresolved business partnership feuds .And at times getting embroiled in the conflict of interest between men and their estranged wives.
The recent attack has even created another round of internally displaced persons{IDP} as many people have fled their homes leaving behind their properly worth thousands of shillings unguarded and exposed to thieves art robbers who are in any way the same members of the Sungu Sungu criminals.
Majority of those fleeing their homes are elderly widows because the killer group has attached an age element to its targets. The families have deserted homes after receiving verbal threats that they were listed as the next target in the execution queue
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Some of the victims claim police had been informed of the threats on the on their lives but the forces of law reinforcement took time to respond.
Many residents of Mosocho in Kitutu Chache and B0marenda in Bonchari areas which have been subjecte to similar style of night killings have expressed fears that if this trends continued unchecked innocent people might be accosted from their homes under killed and the pretext of cracking down on witches.
There are i no witched in Gusii land what is there and the sources of all these hullabaloo are unresolved land disputes and lust for bloody money by these Sungu Sungu serial killers.
Ends
leooderaomolo@yahoo.com
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Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 00:04:24 -0800 [02:04:24 AM CST]
From: Leo Odera Omolo
Subject: NO WITCHES IN GUSII LAND THE KILLINGS VILLAGERS ARE CONNECTED TO LAND AND PROPERTY DEPUTES AND ALSO EXTORTIONS BY THE MILITIA GROUPS ACTING AS PRIVATE ARMIS FOR POLITICIANS
