Kijana Wamalwa's soul finally rests in peace as crucial last rite is performed

Bishop Maurice Crowley of St Immaculate Catholic Church in Kitale blesses the grave of former Vice President Michael Wamalwa Kijana during his 12th memorial held at Milimani Estate in Kitale. [Photo: Peter Ochieng/Standard]

In his lifetime, Michael Kijana Wamalwa had finesse and eloquence in the Queen’s language that enthralled his audience.

The sophistry and intellect of the lawyer-cum-politician, who rose to become the country’s vice president, gave him class.

And 12 years after his death, his family had to retrace his final journey in London, United Kingdom, to fulfill a cultural rite that eventually reunited modernity and ancestral belief.

The spirit of the late Michael Kijana Wamalwa was finally brought home and reconciled with his body after 12 years of intense pressure from the Baengele clan of the Bukusu community. In a ritual referred to as khulotia, his family had to fly to Royal Free Hospital in London where Wamalwa died 12 years ago to bring his spirit home to appease the gods and bring peace to the clan.

According to Wamalwa’s Baengele clan, when a person dies in a foreign land, their spirit remains there and needs to be urgently united with the body after burial.

“We had to travel to UK along with immediate family members to bring his spirit after pressure from the Bukusu elders,” said Water Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa, the brother of the deceased.

The deceased’s wife Yvonne, his granddaughter Malaika Nekesa and Mukhisa Kituyi, among others, held special prayers in the hospital where the former VP was treated.

“As per the tradition, it is required that a granddaughter of the deceased has to be present during the khulotia exercise and that is the reason why the family had to wait until Jabali’s daughter Malaika came of age,” said Jeff Matumbai the family spokesperson.

According to Mr Matumbai, it is a tradition to either pick a sister or granddaughter of the deceased who is not married. In the case of Wamalwa, the only choice was Wamalwa’s granddaughter Malaika who recently turned 9, an ideal age for participation in the special prayers.

He explained that among those who travelled to the UK hospital to collect the spirit were those who were with the former VP before his death.

“Eugene, Yvonne and Mukhisa Kituyi, who is also a cousin, were among those who were with Wamalwa and they were tasked with holding special prayers in places such as the hospital room where he was receiving treatment and outside the house where he also sat,” he added.

Box received

When the team arrived from London, they brought a box believed to bear the spirit of Wamalwa to his Kitale home where the elders received it while chanting songs in praise of the departed in a bid to appease the gods.

“The elders slaughtered a bull after the exercise to mark celebrations of safe return of the deceased spirit and its reunion with the body,” explained Matumbai.

It was the first time that all the family members were present to participate in the memorial commemoration of the former vice president.

Wamalwa’s daughter Michelle, 15, used the platform to remember her dad through a descriptive poem. She was three years old when her father died.

An emotional Yvonne narrated how memorial commemorations have constantly created a bond within the family, while referring to her deceased husband to an elephant.

“I was married in a home where my husband was an elephant. Though he died 12 years ago, I am overwhelmed by the immense support that the citizens have constantly shown our family, an indicator that their love for Mike is forever,” she said.

Similar sentiments were echoed by Jabali, who appreciated the contribution made by the locals in ensuring that his father’s legacy is upheld.

The family used the opportunity to distribute 50 laptops to three schools named after Wamalwa spread across the region.

“It is an honour that though our kin left us 12 years ago, his calls for better education among the Luhya community are still alive. We shall be supporting schools so that the students can prosper in their studies,” said Eugene Wamalwa.