By LEONARD KORIR

A ritual to trap suspected murderers turned ugly after a concoction administered to the residents by a witch doctor backfired.

The ritual, which began in the morning in one of the homesteads at Olalui village in Trans Mara West District, witnessed the witch doctor administering the concoction to several residents, claiming it was just a matter of time before the suspects confessed.

However, some of those who took the concoction, including the family members of the deceased, started losing consciousness and others vomiting. According to the witch doctor who claimed to be a Congolese national, whoever committed the murder would graze like a cow and start to confess.

Powers
He further claimed that through his powers he had spotted those who had stolen the motorbike of the deceased at Keroka in the neighbouring Masaba District and that they would come to the ritual scene within two hours with the stolen bike.

Things turned worse as the residents who had run out of patience turned against the bespectacled witch doctor and asked why his ritual had not shown any of the promised results but had instead seemed to affect the people adversely.

Irate onlookers charged at the witch doctor demanding he treat the affected people.

Efforts by the police who arrived at the scene to whisk away the witch doctor were thwarted by the charged locals, who vowed not to let him go until he treated the affected people.

One of the officers drew a gun and fired in the air to disperse the surging crowd that were baying for the witch doctor’s blood, but the irate mob responded by brandishing machetes and clubs and dared the officer to shoot them.

Cow dung
In a show of distaste, women collected cow dung and smeared the witch doctor, who had been forced by a group of men to sit down and explain the magic behind his concoction, with it.

The brother of the deceased, Ngalu ole Kinyamal, said the ‘doctor’ had been paid Sh30,000 of the Sh70,000 he had demanded for the exercise.
However, following the botched ritual, he had to forfeit the remaining balance and spend the night at Kilgoris Police Station cells.

Elders led by Kipteng ole Sundu prevailed upon the furious villagers to allow the affected people to be taken to hospital for treatment.
Eight people were rushed to Trans Mara District Hospital where they were admitted.