Kuria elders step in to help in disarmament

By Isaiah Lucheli Villagers and Provincial Administration officers watched in disbelief as men suspected to own illegal firearms stripped naked for a ritual in Kuria.
This was the extreme measure that the revered council of elders known as inchama took to end proliferation of illegal arms and insecurity that has led to the displacement of over 7,000 villagers.
The ritual, enkoro was supposed to be performed on 38 men suspected to be in possession of illegal arms used to perpetuate insecurity. But only 15 men turned up.
The frail looking elders drawn from Kenya and Tanzania send chilling fear in the spine of the villagers and their word is law.

Suspected arms owners

Kuria elders during a cleansing ceremony. Photos: Wilberforce Okwiri/Standard

Failure by the Government to involve the elders in the fight against clan wars, cattle rustling, and female genital mutilation frustrated efforts to address the problems.
Secretary of the council of elders Nyagosuko Magige said the villagers had been given time to surrender arms to the DC’s office before the ritual.
"We had a list of villagers suspected to be in possession of guns and we gave them time to ensure the guns are returned to stem insecurity. Those who returned did not undergo the ritual," he said.
During a brief meeting at Piang’ong’we village in Chinato division only the area DO, and the DC were allowed to talk before the elders took charge of the proceedings.
During a meeting held late last year the elders had hinted that to achieve peace in the area, two ceremonies namely Oboraro and Enkoro were to be conducted.
Start of ritual Oboraro is a cultural ceremony used to bind all the Kuria people regardless of the country or age to a certain course of action while enkoro bars the youth from owning illicit arms and engaging in criminal activities and those who defy are said to die mysteriously or become insane.
Before the start of the ritual, Magige asked the villagers to surrender the firearms but none responded.
He proceeded to call the names of the 38 villagers suspected of being in possession of firearms and were paraded in front of their family members and the Kuria East District security committee members.
The suspects were directed towards the shrine as curious villagers escorted them.
At the shrine an elder chanted some words before the men were ordered to undress in full view of all the people present. The ritual was last performed over 25 years ago.
The naked men were ordered to walk around an ant hill like mound of soil seven times swearing that they do not own guns.
After they had gone round the mound seven times Magige informed the villagers that the last one to leave the shrine would be accosted by the spirits leading to a near stampede.
An elder Mwita Chacha Kerario warned that those who had undergone the rite and owned illicit arms would face serious calamities.
"Those who defy the elders would either become mad or die mysteriously. The curse would affect all the family members of the suspects who lie to the elders," he says.
A suspect who underwent the ritual Mwita Magere confirmed that he used to own a gun but he had surrendered the weapon to the Government.
"In Kuria a gun is owned by a group of people. People acquired guns either as a clan, friends or neighbours for protection," he says.
Magere said he surrendered the gun to the DC’s office but was told to undergo the ritual to clear his name.
"The elders suspected that I had an extra gun that is why my name appeared on the list. I decided to undergo the rite so that I can prove them wrong," he says.
Kuria East DC Magu Mutindika said influx of illegal arms from Tanzania, increased cattle rustling cases and insecurity that has affected the region for a long time.
"Efforts by the Government to crackdown on suspected cattle rustlers experienced serious challenges but the involvement of the elders has led to peaceful coexistence among the warring clans since last year," says Mutindika.
He said in the past 10 months villagers had surrendered 42 illegal guns and 116 bullets. Mutindika said efforts to unite the elders had been made possible by the help of peace caravan through the funding of USAid Kenya Transitional Initiative (KTI).
"In the past elders were not united and this contributed to the insecurity that dogged the community. Each elder had a clan that he commanded but the situation has improved," he said.
Through the efforts the Government has recovered 300 cows stolen from the Maasais and 36 from Tanzania, which were returned to the owners.
Sam Kona of KTI explains that the peace caravan had brought all the people on board in the quest for peace, which has been elusive.
"Peace caravans comprises Government officials, district peace committee members, professionals and all those who wish to work to bring peace," he said.