KISII, Kenya, Oct 18- Two people accused of being part of a bloodthirsty group that killed three elderly women and a man in Kisii for the flimsy reason that they were witches have been arrested.
They include a 17-year-old boy whom police say was among those that killed the four.
Police have told Shahidi News that 20 other suspects are being pursued after they were named by witnesses. The killings occurred over the weekend.
“We already have a list of all the suspects. We are doing all that we can to get them and bring them to book,” Kisii County Police Commander Francis Kooli told Shahidi News. “One of the suspects in the custody is the mastermind of the killings. There is no stone that will be left unturned.”
He said, “We will not allow lawlessness in this county. The law must be followed.”
This comes a few hours after Inspector General of Police Hillary Mutyambai made an assurance that those involved will be arrested and prosecuted.
Of those killed was an 85-year-old woman, who is seen in a viral picture raising her hands while pleading for mercy while being confronted by a man, who is armed with a crude weapon.
A crowd watched, including young children, watched as the old woman alongside her property that included a mattress were lynched to death.
“I strongly condemn this heinous act. Investigations are at an advanced stage, the suspects will be arrested and prosecuted. This should also be a warning to members of the public from taking laws into their own hands,” the police boss said during the weekly Twitter engagements dubbed #EngageTheIG.
According to police statistics, 150 elderly people have been killed on allegations of witchcraft in the last two years in Kenya.
Other than in Kisii County, such cases were prevalent in Kilifi County.
To arrest the situation, state and non-state actors have come up with a myriad of initiatives to sensitize community members against the vice and also enhance the police-public relationship.
One such effort is through the REINVENT programme, which rolled out an innovative approach to community policing and accountability forums called SEMA Clinic(s). The programme is funded by the United Kingdom.
The Sema clinics are open forums that bring together the police and the community members to engage in dialogue on security issues that affect the area.
The messages are relayed in various ways including role-plays where the Police are actual cast in the plays.
This is seen as a perfect way of curtailing retrogressive beliefs that kept the elderly at risk of killings due to allegations of witchcraft.
Through joint role-plays with the community art groups, they have been able to create awareness against a number of societal ills increasing the confidence in the Police.
“They no longer run away whenever they see police vehicles and as a result, this has increased the number of people who report cases to the police station,” authorities in Kilifi told Shahidi News.
Through the programme, the killings in the County according to police statistics have drastically reduced by an average of 60 percent.
Since January 2021 only two cases of elderly killings have been reported and one defilement case reported at the Kijipwa Police station, within Kilifi County.
“The elderly persons are being informed where to go and present their issues and the repercussions after that, “Chiro Mwahunga, a member of the Chonyi Community Policing Committee said.
Through Sema clinics, community representatives within the jurisdiction of a particular REINVENT police station are able to come together with the station’s leadership and a representation from the police oversight and accountability institutions, including the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), Internal Affairs Unit (IAU), Commission for Administration of Justice (CAJ), and Kenya National Human Rights Commission (KNHRC).
The objective of the forum is to provide an open space for the community to speak out about the state of policing services in their respective areas, allow for responses from the security agencies and provide the space to speak freely in the presence of the institutions.
The SEMA clinics are supported by a complementary approach named Free Legal Aid Advisory Call Sessions (FLAACS) similarly run by HURIA.
“The youth, together with the community policing committees and the are police officers came together and designed skits that speak around witchcraft and the killing of the elderly and also touch on the issues of gender-based violence,” Winnie Hachi, Huria, which is a UK-funded programme said.
“Once they view the skits, they come up with questions and reactions in addressing with witchcraft or a GBV case.”
An anonymous toll-free line is provided to the public to report any form of violations by the security agencies.
A response team made up of pro-bono lawyers provides requisite support to persons reporting incidences which include referrals, legal and counselling support.
The Sema clinics model is being replicated in several counties in Kenya.
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