Witchcraft? Five crash victims were going to bury granny who died after killing a snake

The death of a woman (pictured) moments after she killed a snake has been linked to witchcraft.

An elderly Belina Lomen is said to have died minutes after she killed and burned a two-metre snake that had coiled itself in her house, last week.

Relatives claimed the snake was reared by a known individual suspected to be practicing witchcraft.

And as locals tried to come to terms with Lomen’s death, five members of her family perished in last week’s accident in Kericho.

The five were travelling to bury Lomen.

Caroline, one of Lomen’s daughters, said she had been expecting visitors on the fateful day and was tidying up the compound with the help of a house help, when the latter, who was sweeping the house, saw the snake coiled in the kitchen. She alerted the older woman.

“My mother came with a stick and killed the snake. The house help was scared of it. She then took it outside and set it ablaze. At no point did the snake attempt to bite or release venom on her,” said Ms Caroline.

She added: “After 45 minutes, my mother started complaining of pain all over her body. Her body started swelling before she lost sight. And as she was going to the house to rest, she fell at the door and died.”   

Caroline blamed the death of her mother and the other five family members who died in the Kericho crash on the killing of the python.

Lomen was buried on Saturday.

Joseph Munala, a child of Lomen, lost a son, grandsons and a daughter-in-law in the grisly road accident that claimed 58 lives.

Mr Munala said he last talked to his son Roston, on Tuesday at 10pm when the latter had just boarded the bus. He said his son told him to send two motorcycles to Kakamega town on Wednesday morning to pick them at the bus terminal.

“We had planned to go together to the mortuary to collect the body of their grandmother Belina that particular morning, only to receive information about the tragedy,” he said.

Munala was called by his granddaughter, who had booked the same bus. She survived. Roston, 37, his wife Catherine Kaki, 27, and children aged two and four died in the accident. 

Meanwhile, the requiem mass for all crash victims from Kakamega County will be held on Wednesday. The burial committee chair, Ali Chibole, said the mass would be held at the old airstrip.

Mr Chibole said the county government would offer transport from the airstrip to the homes of the affected families after the mass. Those who would wish to bury at later dates would be given some money too.

“At least three quarters of the burial expenses will be catered for by the county government. The committee will be meeting tomorrow (today) to determine the amount of money each family will get to enable them give a befitting sendoff to their departed relatives,” said Mr Chibole.

Now 28 bodies of the crash victims are being preserved at the Kakamega Teaching and Referral Hospital mortuary. One was buried in Kaimosi. He was Muslim.

In an interview yesterday, county government pathologist Dickson Muchana said only 28 bodies had been identified.