Anxiety has gripped the residents of Taveta after unknown people conducted a blood ceremony on a farm previously owned by former Taveta MP Basil Criticos.
The Friday ceremony was conducted at Riata Hill, and leaders are now demanding to know the motive behind the heavily guarded event.
The participants started arriving on the day of the ritual, and were housed locally before converging on the farm. Some of the men then left the farm on Saturday but others remained, apparently to stay longer with friends and relatives.
Alarmed residents told The Standard that the event organisers arrived in hired buses and matatus for the ceremony that attracted over 500 people.
According to officials from the Ministry of Interior and Coordination, blood from sheep slaughtered in the farm was mixed with herbs then sprinkled on the three-acre land.
As tension rose, chiefs and their assistants said they had been directed by their seniors to hold public meetings to sensitise residents on the need to maintain peace.
A public participation meeting on the budget-making process that was organised by the county government at Danida Hall aborted due to fears over the ceremony, said the administrators.
Private property
“We have been told to hold meetings to tell residents that the event was conducted on private property and that it has nothing to do with the general public. The land in which the ceremony was conducted was bought by a few individuals who want to protect it,” a chief, who declined to be named for fear of victimisation, told The Standard yesterday.
The land belonged to Criticos before it was seized by the Settlement Transfer Fund to settle squatters 10 years ago. Controversy was stirred when residents claimed the majority of the beneficiaries were from outside the region.
Taveta OCPD Joel Chesire confirmed that the event took place, but described it as a private affair. Without elaborating, the police boss said the organisers had requested and been granted a permit to host the ceremony.
“The police were notified and provided security to the event organisers. Those who attended the event from outside were invited by their relatives and friends living there,” Chesire said yesterday.
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