Kikuyu elders vow to invoke ‘curse’ on killers of initiate
The Kikuyu Council of Elders under the umbrella of Kiama Kia Ma has castigated the heinous murder of an initiate who died in the hands of his counsellors after his mother allegedly gave them an immature chicken.
The elders, led by their chairperson for Murang’a County chapter Kiarie Wa Rugami Wa Combu, condemned the murder and vowed to curse the alleged perpetrators.
He said it is against the Kikuyu tradition to kill an initiate and to demand anything from the person who has just undergone a rite of passage.
He also called on the security agencies to fast-track investigations in the incident.
AGIKUYU TRADITION
The elders want the suspects charged with the murder and for maligning the Kikuyu tradition.
“According to Agikuyu culture and tradition, it’s immoral and illegal for anyone to demand goodies from the initiate, those purporting to follow the tradition are misguiding locals and should be dealt with in accordance with the law since it’s also illegal to kill,” the elder said.
While strongly condemning the culture of youthful men in Muranga who have been demanding chicken and cigarettes from the initiates, Mr Combu said nowhere in the Kikuyu customs were the chicken and cigarettes used to welcome the circumcised into manhood.
“Hooligans and illegal groups have misused the Kikuyu culture for a very long time on how the initiates are welcomed into manhood. After the initiation, the initiate’s father or his uncle produces a he-goat on his behalf which, is then slaughtered to his clan and the initiate’s care giver, during that ceremony known as ‘Ithemba’ he is dressed up to a new kanga and assimilated back to the community,” he said.
FOUND DEAD
He maintained that nowhere in the Kikuyu culture were the initiates tortured and roughed up.
The move by the Kikuyu elders comes at a time when seven suspects have been arrested following the killing with Kandara OCPD Wilson Kosgey saying investigations are ongoing.
“We are working round the clock to reveal the real culprits behind death of the 15 year old,” he said.
The boy, identified as Juliano Kanyonyo, who scored 376 marks in the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education, was found dead in his room on Sunday by his mother.
A postmortem showed that the 15-year-old boy, who was recovering after being circumcised, was hit with blunt objects on his head. He had also suffered a broken hand.