Written by Leonard Wamalwa 2012-02-06 16:37:00 Read 1358 Times

The suspect moving around the compound as if searching or following the footsteps of the stollen animals.[PHOTO|Leonard Wamalwa|West Fm]

Residents of a village in Sitatunga location of Cherangani constituency woke up to free drama that brought activities to a stand still for many hours after a witch doctor performed his witches in a home that had lost two cows a month ago and later one of the suspects turned up befitting the signs the doctor had described of the suspected thieves.

The suspect identified as Geofrey Peter is said to have started behaving unusually at about 10pm Sunday night shortly after the witchdoctor by the name Dr Nyasi from Kimilili had finished performing his supernatural applications at the home of Jackson Matata in Nairobi B village.

Eyewitnesses who witnessed the whole process, said that the suspect who is a resident and had also participated in the taking of the oath administered by the witchdoctor started eating grass and doing gestures as he moved towards the cattle shed at the home where the cows were stolen.

"I lost my two cows on January 6 this year and all my efforts to trace them failed and thus I decided to seek assistance from a witchdoctor though it was not easy to get a genuine one but finally I got doctor Nyasi from Kimilili who came last night and performed his rituals and later this suspect turned up and started behaving like this," Mzee Jackson Matata whose cows were stolen told journalists at the scene.

Matata (pictured above) said that he had paid Kshs20,000 to the witch doctor who now demands the same amount of money and two big cows to be paid by the suspect's relatives before the witchdoctor can relieve him from the situation that has rendered him non-functional and speechless but only moves around the home as he continues behaving in a very queer situation.

However the residents who turned up in hundreds at the home were calm and peaceful as they adhered to the doctor's directives that the suspect should not be assaulted though it was not clear what will happen to the suspect if he or his relatives fail to raise the amount and cows required by the doctor.

At the same time another suspect who had been reported to have shown the same signs from the area is said to have been taken to Kitale district hospital with relatives claiming that he had been struck by Malaria.

Lesson to thieves

Following the incident, residents of Sitatunga have shown their optimism that crime especially stealing of livestock and other belongings will be reduced by a bigger percentage as most of the criminals might fear attempting to steal again from the area as they will fear to face the repercussions that their colleague has gone through.

They pointed out that the police and other security agents in the area had failed completely to address the situation noting that whenever they report and even arrest and hand over the suspects to the police; they are always released immediately with no appropriate action being taken against them.

"We are tired of arresting the suspects and taking them to police officers in this area who always release them almost immediately because before we arrive home after handing such suspects to the police, we are caught up by the same suspects walking freely to their homes," said area village elder Peter Namanda.

He said that criminal activities have been rampant in the area and thus prompted villagers to seek other ways of addressing the situation.

"As a village elder I can attest that we have taken very many suspects to the police but before I arrive home the suspects arrive ahead of me after being released immediately by the same officers without investigations and subsequent prosecution," the village elder noted.

Other villagers came up and revealed how they had lost their belongings and how their efforts to trace the goods or the thieves had failed completely.

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