KISII, Kenya, Nov 18- Up to 100 women are killed annually in Kenya for being suspected witches, the state-sponsored Kenya National Commission on Human Rights said.
The killings according to the state agency occur in Kilifi, Kwale, and Kisii County- where four women were recently killed, among them an 80-year-old granny.
A fifth person, a man, is also the latest victim of the killings in Kisii.
Speaking in Kisii on Thursday, the Commission Chief Executive Officer Dr. Bernard Mogesa said the commission receives up to four cases of elderly women being killed over suspected witchcraft per month, from the three Counties.
It means cumulatively, the commission records up to 12 cases from the 3 Counties.
“The commission is likely to receive at least 100 cases of elderly women who are killed in Kisii, Kilifi and Kwale Counties,” Dr. Mogesa said.
The commission has since completed a one-week investigation on the lynching to death of four elderly women in Rioma area within Marani Sub-County last month.
Dr. Mogesa said elderly women aged above 65 years are prone to be suspected of practicing witchcraft in the three Counties.
“We are holding a public participation in those hotspot areas to educate the public on the importance of the right to life,” Dr. Mogesa told Shahidi News.
In regards to the recent killings in Kisii, he said KNCHR has provided an advocate to appear for the victims’ families in court.
The commission is also providing psychosocial support to the said families.
“We have two school-going children who are traumatized after watching the ugly scenes. We are in the process of transferring them to appropriate schools where they will continue with their education,” he said.
The commission also intends to engage other state bodies in ensuring the menace is eliminated.
Chairman of the Abagusii council of elders said the community’s culture does not advocate taking life of another person.
“We found out drug abuse, illicit brew and poverty contribute a lot to the killing of these women,” Matundura said.
The commission will Friday hand over a report to the witchcraft taskforce committee which was last month appointed by the Kisii Governor James Ongwae.
Six people were arrested and charged in Kisii High Court over the Marani killings.
All the suspects are being remanded at prison in Kisii.
Non-state actors have since rolled out measures to curb the crime in Kilifi.
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.
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.
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