One of the elders who installed President Uhuru Kenyatta as an elder on Monday died minutes after the ceremony as he was going home. The Kaya elder Omar Koro Mwamkondoo died when the boda boda taxi he was using was hit from behind by a vehicle at Matairini area in Matuga.
The vehicle was heading to Kombani from Kwale town. Kwale deputy police boss Sammy Nyongesa said the motorist was trying to overtake the boda boda taxi when the accident happened. Mwamkondoo died from bleeding as he was being taken to Msambweni District Hospital.
The motorcyclist was admitted at the same hospital with severe injuries. Nyongesa said the motorist is being held at the Diani Police Station pending his arraignment in court.
Mwamkondoo was among the Kaya elders who participated in the ceremony where they installed Uhuru as a Kaya elder at Baraza Park in Kwale where he was distributing 14,000 title deeds to residents.
Mwamkondoo was one of the elders from Kaya Lunguma in Viongwani Golini. According to Kwale association chair of Kaya elders Abdalla Mnyenze.
The Kayas are sacred groves which are ringed by forest. Each of the Mijikenda has their own such groves which in ages past were fortified villages surrounded by thick tropical forest whose access was limited to one or two paths. These groves were taken care of by elders who enforced the rules that controlled the cutting of trees for timber, grazing of livestock and clearing for farmlands.
The Kaya elders were also responsible for taking care of the sacred objects of fingos which were considered essential for the well-being of the community.
Due to rapid population growth, the replacement of communal land tenure with a Western system of individual ownership of land and the development of the Coastal strip for tourisms many of these Kaya forests were sold to developers despite protests from the Kaya elders.
There are more than 46 Kayas gazetted at the Coast and ten of them have been recognised as World heritage sites. The largest of these is Kaya Fungo. Each of the Kayas has its own age sets whose seniors – the Kambi – are the main political and ritual leaders.
The Kambi is supposed to meet regularly to adjudicate community disputes and conduct ritual annual ceremonies such as praying for rains during droughts.
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