By Winsley Masese
The villagers talk in hushed voices, greeting visitors with suspicion. Damaris Odong’a sits on the doorstep, sadness written on her face.
She stands up and occasionally paces up and down to work off her frustration.
"The jinni has been stealing my maize flour leaving me hungry," she mutters.
A stone hits the rooftop of a house a few metres away and women scamper for safety.
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We are in Nyabondo village, Nyakach District where strange things have been happening. "Someone was recently hit by a stone but nobody saw who threw it," says Tom Otieno, a villager.
Damaris’ troubles started three weeks ago, stones started falling on the roof of her house in the dead of the night.
"I heard my mother scream for help. When I approached the house I heard a commotion," says Albert Odong’a, her son.
"The jinni cut up my mother’s furniture. She could not see the one doing it nor the object used to do it but you can seer that a long knife was used," explains Albert.
There are a few stones within the compound and they are shown to us. "This broken brick struck the house," says Tom.
Family member
In the iron-roofed house, we are shown where Damaris has been spending her nights since the jinni invasion.
According to Okore Michael, a village, Damaris could not spend the night at any homestead in the area. "People fear that is she spends the night with them, the jinni will follow her," he says.
He believes the mystery is caused by witchcraft due to a family problem.
"There seems to be a land dispute between the family members and someone is using evil spirits," Okore offers.
All fingers were pointed at a close family member. Seeking an explanation from him does not bear fruit. "I am equally bewildered by the stone throwing," he says and adds: "I am a Christian and do not subscribe to evil spirits."
He assures us that there is no land dispute in the family since every member has a title deed.
Tom Ondoro, a villager, claims the windowpanes of a nearby SDA church were shattered when the mysterious stone thrower struck them.
