Saturday, June 22, 2013
Elders offer sacrifice for Uhuru, Ruto
Elders from the Kikuyu community held prayers under a Mugumo tree and sacrificed a ram to ‘mwene nyaga’ to intercede in the leadership of the country.
The ten Gikuyu elders drawn from various parts of the country including Lamu, Eldoret, Nyahururu and Nyeri met under the leadership of mzee Mathenge Itimo who led the prayers at the Bantu Lodge Naromoru Mugumo shrine.
The elders prayed for President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto to overcome the challenges that were facing them both within the country and abroad.
Mr Itimo said when the two were sworn in, they asked for prayers and the elders had therefore met to offer prayers on their behalf in the traditional African way.
“Our country had a lot of problems and even now the president and his deputy are facing challenges both from within and without. This sacrifice is to ask god to intervene so that they may overcome the challenges," said Mr Itimo.
He prayed that the two be guided in their speech saying that the worst conflict starts with irresponsible speech.
The elders gave thanks on behalf of the country following a peaceful election saying those who had been thought to be the antagonists before were now the peacemakers who were bringing different communities together.
The elders also asked the members of parliament who were asking for higher salaries to be content with what they had been given and serve the people first.
They pointed out that they too were Mau Mau freedom fighters who fought for freedom but they did not ask for payment and it was god who had been taking care of them. They urged the MPs to follow suit and serve the people.
Mr Itimo also called on his fellow former Mau Mau fighters to stop wrangling over the promised British compensation saying that it was important to acknowledge that the British government had apologised for the atrocities.
“Let us be grateful that the British Government has apologised to us. To say sorry is not an easy thing for most of us. The money may not be adequate for all of us as we are more than the 5,000 figure which is set to be compensated but this is no reason to fight. We ended the war in the forest,” said Mr Itimo.
The elders also prayed for the youth to shun wayward behaviour like men marrying fellow men and others having intercourse with animals, something which was contrary to African traditions.
The rare ritual, which is usually performed in times of trouble like drought, disease outbreak and famine was witnessed by a small group of people and the media.
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