Kaya elders call for vetting to weed out imposters amongst them

Kwale; Kenya: Kaya elders are now calling for vetting to weed out impostors from the hallowed traditional council of elders.

They say many elders are falsely laying claim to kaya satatus bringing the council into disrepute for personal gain.
Speaking at Kaya Kinondo in Kwale during a tour with World Wide Fund (WWF) officials on Friday, the Kaya elders' council Vice Chairman Shaaban Ndegwa said there were men purporting to be Kaya elders when they are not.
"There are those people who come here and con people that they are Kaya elders when they are not. We now want to have interviews for each person claiming that he is a Kaya elder and ask them all our customs and cultural activities," said Ndegwa, adding that fake elders are just out to swindle money from unsuspecting people by performing rituals that they are not qualified to perform.
Ndegwa says such impersonators do not strictly adhere to Mijikendas' norms.
The elders also want the Government to deploy security personnel to guard all the 28 kayas (forests) in Kwale from encroachment and grabbers. They said despite the fact that the Government gazzeted the 28 kayas under the National Monument Act of 1992, they were left at the mercy of human activities.