Reports Leo Odera Omolo In Kapsabet Town.
The dreadful rumor which kicked off two weeks ago later spread like bush fire into the neighboring Uasin Gishu County.
The rumor was about the myth about the existence of the”Man Eater” beast in the region.
The rumor was sparked off following the discovery of a half eaten man Unknown people or person took the photograph of the half-eaten body an posted it to one of the social media outlets, the Facebook.
Earlier this week, the villagers mobilized themselves and while armed with arrows, bows,spears and rungus and other crude weapons went into hunting spree ransacking all the nearby thickets and bushes in search of the alleged ‘Man Eater Beast’.
The incident also kindled an old myth about the existence of a mysterious beast alleged the Nandi Bear.The story o f the existence of the Nandi Bear has remained unresolved for decades, and even during the colonial era, some whites conducted a thorough studies in search of the Nandi Bear’ but never traced the animal, though its existence has remained so famous I the local folk-tales.
The Whites farmers and administrators working in Nandi district had established a social Club called Nandi Bear Club, which is located next to the Nandi Hills town. The Club is one of the most exclusive one in the region surrounded by an ultra modern Golf Club.
The Nandi Bear is known in Kalenjin as “Getet” its mythological existence is associated with clams that the Nandi Bears used to struck into the villages, beheaded people and took away their carcasses.
The myth of Getet was mainly used by nursing mothers in calming heir crying babies or children during the dead hours of the night, by frightening the minors that their cries would attract “Getet” the Nandi Bears to come and kill the family.
After raiding several bushes and thickets the villagers came into face to face encounter with three “Jackals”. They cornered the Jackals and killed two of them, while the third one escaped.
Jackals are smaller than dogs and cannot kill a grown up person. The carcasses of the dead jackals were handed to the officials of the Kenya Wildllfe Services, but nothing like a man eating beast.
A senior KQWS official has discounted the rumor about the existence of the “Man Easter Beast”. He said the deceased who appeared to have been stabbed all over the body by unknown assailants had blood oozing from the stab wounds, and this could have attracted the stray dogs.
The KWS official Joel Kunda said the police in both Uasin Gishu and Nandi Counties were actively investigating those who might have posted the photographs of the half-eaten body to the social media thereby sparking rumors and fears among the population.
The rumor has caused a lot of panicking with parents believing that they should not send their small children to school for fear of being attacked by the ‘Man Easter Beast”Even those fond of visiting the Chang’aa dens have curtailed their movement and chose to remain indoor after darkness.
The rumor has clamped down on what one resident of Chepterit Market Samuel Limo described as “down to Dusk Cufew.
On the other hand it has made young married women happy, especially those whose husbands are known to have been spending long hours of the night in chang’aa drinking den.”They do come home much earlier and even had time for supper with the children before retiring to be, “ remarked Rachel Jebet a mother of four.
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