Sect leaders and elders 'collect' spirits of heroes for reburial

Spirits of Bukusu freedom fighters who were buried in Kakamega during the colonial era were "collected" for reburial in their ancestral home.

Residents of Kakamega town were treated to a rare spectacle at the weekend when followers of Dini Ya Musambwa sect and Bukusu elders arrived to "collect" the spirits.

The Bukusu freedom fighters are believed to have been buried in Kakamega's Maraba graveyard during the colonial era.

The fighters were killed by colonial masters in 1948 when sect leader, the late Elijah Masinde, led a revolt against the imperial rule in Bungoma.

Dini Ya Musambua Bishop Joseph Maloba told The Standard the heroes' spirits had to be appeased by reburying them in their ancestral home.

"The spirits have been in discomfort hovering in a strange land for a long time. We saw it prudent to go to Kakamega to collect them and take them to their roots," said Maloba.

Outgoing Kakamega County Commissioner Lucy Mulili confirmed that the remains of the freedom fighters linked to Musambwa movement were actually buried in the town, some 90 kilometres from Bungoma.

"Then Western region was administered from Kakamega. The colonial police station were here when the freedom fighters were arrested and held in custody before they were killed," she said.

Mrs Mulili admitted that it was a strange phenomenon which she had never encountered throughout her public service.

"I am also eager to see how spirits are transported. The other bit is that the fighters' remains were exhumed from their first burial site in the town for an alternative site at Makaburini to give room for the development of the town. I would love to see from which grave the spirits will be extracted," she said.

After having a word with the county administration and elders from the Batsotso sub-tribe in Kakamega, the Bukusu elders matched to Maraba graveyards.

They jumped and uttered in strange tongues, chanted and sang traditional songs as Kakamega residents who border the public cemetery watched from a distance. They then picked stones from the site.

"These stones will be taken to Bungoma, it's the soil where the spirits dwell," said one of the Bukusu elders.

The elders then shared cooked groundnuts with residents who had been watching before walking away "carrying the spirits".

Mulili said culture was an integral part of any nation's heritage which should be respected and nurtured, sentiments which were also echoed by Maloba,

"Parents of the new generation should teach children about their culture for them to understand their identity. We also urge schools to capture such events for educational purposes," said Maloba.