Luo and Nandi elders hold ritual to slay dragon of bloody clashes

Cord leader Raila Odinga (center) with elders of Kibigori along Kisumu - Nandi border on October 16 2016 where clashes erupted early this year leaving several dead others injured. Raila urged the residents to live in unity and shun down ethnic clashes.PIC BY COLLINS ODUOR

The ritual was elaborate and perplexing. Selected elders, youths and children from each side of the volatile border removed their shoes and stood still, on a yellow mat, their eyes glued to the scenic but troubled Nyando Valley.

An eerie silence fell on the crowd that joined CORD leader Raila Odinga at the Kibigori grounds to witness the ritual as a Nandi elder, dressed in a black coat and armed with a special fly-whisk, stepped forward to administer the oath that would end decades of sporadic bloodshed between the two communities.