Among us Africans, curses (those furious expressions of wishing misfortune or adversity to befall annoying or offending individuals or places) are believed to be very powerful, at least in some instances.
So much so that some can deafen, blind, jinx or mentally incapacitate individuals they are directed to, or even topple governments or kingdoms. Take, for instance, the independence of Haiti, the second nation to gain independence from European rule (after the United States).
Tired of slavery and being oppressed, angry blacks (who comprise over 90 per cent of the nation’s population) in the Caribbean country came together and organized a voodoo ceremony in 1791, which led to the beginning of the famous Haitian Revolution.
During the abracadabra bash, the locals assembled elders who carried out elaborate rituals, invoking their ancestors as they — unlike other countries that physically fought for independence — cursed and bewitched their slave masters! So powerful were the curses that they resulted in the liberation of the Haitian people from oppressive French colonial rule!
Closer home, especially in rural outposts, no death, misfortune is accepted at face-value. Oh yes, if the local pastor can’t get visions to explain such tragedies, then the local witchdoctor is likely to have an answer. In the village, if you all of a sudden start suffering from incessant tiredness, farting, constant yawning, headaches, humongous appetite for food, sneezing, you lose sports bets, including the so-called sure bets, my friend, you have been cursed!
Your only hope is to consult a powerful witchdoctor to disenchant you and protect you from such curses. What’s more, if your wife fails to get pregnant years after getting married, or you start having nightmares, or start sleepwalking or you get money and it never stays in your pocket, it is very probable that someone has cursed or bewitched you!
So scared of curses are some Kenyans that the mere threat of getting cursed has them wetting their pants. Take, Coast Regional Coordinator Nelson Marwa, for example. Tired of issuing threats on how authorities will beat the hell out of Al-Shabaab terror group, even as scores continue to be killed around Boni forest and its environs in Lamu County, Marwa threatened last week to lead authorities in bombing the darn forest, in a bid to flush out the terrorists believed to be hiding there.
A day later elders from the area came out guns blazing, warning Marwa to leave “their forest” alone and threatened him with curses and other unspecified consequences. “Keep off our forest. We rely on it for hunting and gathering. Bomb it at your own risk,” scoffed elder Doza Dizo, speaking on behalf of local elders. Marwa has since gone silent on the matter. We can only wait to see how he will respond, if at all he is brave enough to risk.
Not long ago, the Agikuyu council of elders called a presser to curse SK Macharia’s Royal Media services for exhibiting a soft spot for Nasa flag bearer Raila Odinga. Despite the alleged curse, aimed at jinxing Royal Media, their TV and radios remain highly competitive in the market.
It gets interesting. A while back, after the murder of popular businessman Jacob Juma, elaborate rituals were carried out by Luhya elders, cursing his killers. Among them, a lit flashlight was stuffed in his coffin, with the elders warning that the moment it goes off, Juma’s killers will have collapsed and died mysteriously, with some running mad. It’s months now and the torch is likely to have run out of batteries, but no one, at least that we know of, has gone crazy or died in connection to the murder.
Kalenjin elders, too, have not been left behind. They recently cursed the killers of Meshack Yebei, an ICC witness in the case against President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto.
Meanwhile, the Njuri Ncheke elders from Meru have cursed Lands Cabinet Secretary Jacob Kaimenyi twice. In the first instance, cast spells of misfortune on the CS in May 2015 for failing to honour summons over “controversial” remarks he had made about the council.
Kaimenyi had to part with a white, spotless bull and Sh100,000 for the curse to be lifted. In the second instance, a splinter group performed rituals at Nchiru shrine in Tigania West last year, cursing the CS as they accused him of fueling division among the elders.
“We are the ones who lobbied for Kaimenyi to be appointed Cabinet Secretary. We urge President Uhuru Kenyatta to sack him and replace him with someone else,” said the then Secretary General Josephat Murangiri and chairman Linus Kathera, threatening to march to State House and curse President Uhuru should he fail to fire the CS by mid last year. “Kaimenyi has tainted the name of the council, an offence which warrants excommunication,” they fumed. In the second instance, however, the CS told them off, urging them to go to hell!
“They can as well go to hell. After all, they are not recognised by the Registrar of Societies and if anything they had nothing to do with my appointment as CS,” hissed Kaimenyi, while addressing the matter at Meru National Polytechnic.
Elders from the Kuria community, too, hit headlines a while back when they invoked a deadly curse on youths who secretly owned illegal weapons, even as they were called upon to surrender such to the government. But the silence that has followed these curses is very suspect.
The biggest question on almost everyone’s lips is, are our curses losing their sting? Have our elders become so useless that their curses don’t stick or come to pass? Could their recent embarrassing behavior, like easily getting pocketed or bribed to endorse any Tom Dick and Harry as a community leader, be attributed to the loss of their mojo?
In any society, elders are considered as the wise and should be showing direction to the respective members of the societies. And in most cases, the elders have always been consulted before making major decisions, especially those which have a huge impact on a community.
However, changing times has reduced them to behaviors that do not warrant the ‘elder’ tag. In western Kenya, for example, we have seen tens of factions, masquerading as the legitimate community’s elders. They have been in constant fight with politicians, a thing that has exposed the once revered elders’ council soft underbelly.
The Luhya council of elders, which gets “goodwill” financial support from politicians to facilitate its operations, recently ran into a fierce and embarrassing mudslinging battle with Mumias East MP Benjamin Washiali, with the legislator threatening to “starve” the council of his regular contributions!
“The elders are confused and are misleading the Luhya community. I want them to pay back my contributions because they are biased,” snarled Washiali, when the Patrick Wangamati-led outfit declared support for then Cord leader Raila Odinga’s presidency whilst ignoring ANC leader Musalia Mudavadi and Moses Wetangula of Ford Kenya, who are from the area. The Jubilee-aligned MP claimed that he had contributed half a million shillings to the council, which he demanded back.
Mzee James Amunze another elder of the Batsotso Luhya subtribe last December said he had cursed Kakamega senator Boni Khalwale for gate-crashing a cultural festival in Navakholo and attacking Deputy President William Ruto who was in attendance.
Khalwale walked into the meeting and told the DP that western Kenya would never vote Jubilee and those who had been given handouts to market Jubilee to “eat the money in silence”.
In the Luo nation, too, the Council of Elders is not speaking with one voice. They seem to be in competition to outdo each other in what looks like an endorsement spree for the upcoming elections.
Kisumu Governor Jack Ranguma has, for instance, now been endorsed by elders from over five clans in the last five months, with some cursing his rivals. What’s more, splinter groups from the same clans have also endorsed the candidature of Ranguma’s competitor, Professor Anyang’ Nyong’o in a circus that has left voters confused.
Mzee Otondi, a Luo council of elders’ member admitted to have received complaints of double dealing of some elders, some of whom are hired to preside over political endorsement and endorse different candidates running for same seat.
“We serve all members of the community and should not be seen to be split on political endorsements, because that way we will divide the community. Elders found guilty of misbehavior get suspended, fined or excommunicated from the council, barring him from participating in or presiding over council activities,” he said.
In Meru Njuri Ncheke chairman Phares Ruteere and a member Paul M’Ithinkia’s endorsement a women rep aspirant Kawira Mwangaza at Gitoro shrine but it was opposed by yet another faction of elders. The faction led by Linus Kathera and Josphat Murangiri, (chairman and secretary general) said the endorsement was not in order.
Murangiri said it was not up to elders to support one candidate as all women rep aspirants were daughters of the elders who befitted the endorsement. But M’Ithinkia maintains elders were better placed to settle on a specific candidate.
Stephen Mworia traces the genesis of the Njuri split to the day Governor Peter Munya and Senator Kindiki Kithure political interests played before the elders.
In a ceremony attended by Cabinet Secretary Prof Jacob Kaimenyi, former Head of Public Service Francis Muthaura and the who-is-who in Meru politics, Phares Ruteere and Paul M’Ithinkia, who claim to be duly registered leaders of the Njuri, installed Senator Kindiki as the spokesman of the Ameru people.
Days later Munya opposed the installation as a group of elders allied to him conducted an election where they ‘ousted’ Ruteere and M’Ithinkia.
