Man who walked out of home 40 years ago returns frail and sickly

 

It was joyful moments for residents of Makuu village in Malava Sub- county when Gascon Lumbasi who left family members to look for green pastures resurfaced after 40 years. [Benjamin Sakwa, Standard]

A man believed to have died many years ago has resurfaced at Mausi village in Kakamega North.

Sixty-six-year-old Philip Lumbasi disappeared from home in 1982 in unclear circumstances, only to resurface last week.

"He attended a funeral at Shipala village and the news spread like wildfire in our village. It was hard to believe it until we saw him," said Eliud Shaviya, chairman of the Chekwendo sub-clan of Abashu clan from Malava sub-county.

But the prodigal son missed a reunion with his father, mother, and siblings who died some years back. Elders were reluctant to allow him into the home of his deceased parents until some rituals are performed.

"Our traditions would not have allowed him to walk into the parents' home. He had to stay at the nearby Butali market centre as elders and surviving family members made some preparations to allow for his return," said Shaviya.

Lumbasi narrated to the elders how he left home over four decades ago and resorted to menial jobs like weeding sugarcane plantations in Bungoma County.

The elders then led him to visit the graves of his parents and siblings. One of the elders was heard mumbling some words as they moved from one grave to another before a prayer was made.

Moments later, Lumbasi was allowed to greet, embrace and mingle with his family members, opening a new chapter in his life.

He was treated to a feast of ugali accompanied by chicken and beef stews that were part of the ritual. After the hefty meal, Lumbasi recounted how he left home.

"I left home in the company of my teacher in 1982 to Bungoma after he promised to cater for my education," he recalled.

His parents, relatives and friends mounted a search for him but Lumbasi was nowhere to be found.

"Unfortunately, my host abandoned me in Bungoma and I had nowhere to go. I decided to do casual jobs to support myself while hoping that one day, I would trace my parents."

He says then, he was young and could not make his way home when his teacher dumped him barely a week after they arrived in Bungoma. "I used to dig and weed people's farms and crops in order to put food on the table, at one point."

He recalls living in a sugarcane plantation with wild animals when the ragtag militia Sabaot Land Defence Forces (SLDF) declared war in Mount Elgon and Bungoma County, leaving many people homeless.

"My life has been miserable. I have been making plans to come back home but every time I embark on the journey, I would see darkness and have scary dreams which stopped me from leaving in Bungoma."

It was not until Lumbasi's friend died and no one could tell where he came from that reignited his resolve to go back home.

He regrets wasting his youth in a foreign land. "I would have loved to see my parents, I wanted to tell them everything I experienced and seek their guidance and advise," Lumbasi told The Standard moments after he was welcomed home.

He revealed that he had developed health complications due to digging farms from dawn to dusk every day. "I was not able to marry and have children as my parents would have wished. Doing hard labour affected my back but I was not able to get medical attention," said Lumbasi."