Stopping Crime the Naivasha Way
What can you do when thieves steal all your valuables, but you cannot find them to get back your possessions? This hypothetical question became reality for us this past week.
Last Thursday one of the workers at the centre went to his house for lunch only to find his door wide open. On closer inspection he discovered that thieves had been to call and had stolen everything of value.
Sadly this is not the first time this has happened. In fact, over the last few years the same person has experienced a number of thefts. Fortunately they left the bed this time, though the mattress, blankets, radio, food, and cooking stove and utensils were all gone.
What shocked us all was that this had been done during daylight hours. Anybody could have walked passed and seen the thieves sawing their way into his house.
We subsequently sent out a posse to see whether we could find any evidence of who may have done this in hopes that the stolen items could be retrieved. Sadly, no witnesses could be found. The things were well and truly gone.
What could be done to retrieve the stolen goods? One suggestion offered was that the victim could go to a local woman who was capable of putting a curse on the culprit. The curse would make the crime too costly for the thieves and they might return the stolen items. This woman's specialty was to force a perpetrator to suddenly begin eating grass like a cow!
Such things are not unheard of in Naivasha. In fact, the town is getting something of a reputation for such activities!
Back in October of 2011 the Standard newspaper ran an article about just such an event in Naivasha.
Antoy Gitonga reported:
That was in 2011. But just last week (May 2012) another man was found eating grass. Curious onlookers wanting to catch sight of the event caused a traffic jam in Naivasha town. The Kenyan Daily Post reported that the man was allegedly bewitched for stealing a shirt. The same article states that it is the fourth such incident in Naivasha town this year.
Perhaps it shouldn't be a surprise when people approach witchdoctors to try to retrieve valuable property. Not to be recommended, but when people lose the little they have, you can almost understand it. Will we read of another such incident in the next few weeks as our colleague looks for his stolen possessions?
Last Thursday one of the workers at the centre went to his house for lunch only to find his door wide open. On closer inspection he discovered that thieves had been to call and had stolen everything of value.
Sadly this is not the first time this has happened. In fact, over the last few years the same person has experienced a number of thefts. Fortunately they left the bed this time, though the mattress, blankets, radio, food, and cooking stove and utensils were all gone.
What shocked us all was that this had been done during daylight hours. Anybody could have walked passed and seen the thieves sawing their way into his house.
We subsequently sent out a posse to see whether we could find any evidence of who may have done this in hopes that the stolen items could be retrieved. Sadly, no witnesses could be found. The things were well and truly gone.
What could be done to retrieve the stolen goods? One suggestion offered was that the victim could go to a local woman who was capable of putting a curse on the culprit. The curse would make the crime too costly for the thieves and they might return the stolen items. This woman's specialty was to force a perpetrator to suddenly begin eating grass like a cow!
Such things are not unheard of in Naivasha. In fact, the town is getting something of a reputation for such activities!
Back in October of 2011 the Standard newspaper ran an article about just such an event in Naivasha.
Antoy Gitonga reported:
Naivasha is a town full of odd and sometimes shocking stories ranging from vampires to pastors nabbed red-handed in compromising situations.The incident even made it into the television news! Once again Naivasha makes the news for all the wrong reasons.
And the town continued to live to its reputation in a bizarre incident that left many in shock and fear when a man, allegedly bewitched, started feeding on grass to the amazement of bystanders last week….
Some witnesses claimed the man, who didn’t have identification documents, was bewitched for stealing Sh15,000 from a neighbour.
And true to the allegations, he kept mumbling that one should not take someone‘s property without permission.
"Nawaambia msiwai chukua kitu ya mtu ama mtakipata (I warn you not to take anyone’s property or you will face the music)," he said….
Last year, another suspect who had allegedly stolen a donkey in Kongoni Division started feasting on grass after allegedly getting bewitched.
The suspect, however, admitted to stealing a donkey in Kamere estate and vowed to repent.
According to the donkey owner, she had decided to seek the assistance of a witchdoctor in Western Kenya after the disappearance of the animal.
"The donkey was my only source of livelihood and there was no way I was going to allow someone to go scot-free after stealing it," she told police as the suspect continued eating grass.
He later on ‘recovered’ after relatives promised to pay for the missing donkey.
That was in 2011. But just last week (May 2012) another man was found eating grass. Curious onlookers wanting to catch sight of the event caused a traffic jam in Naivasha town. The Kenyan Daily Post reported that the man was allegedly bewitched for stealing a shirt. The same article states that it is the fourth such incident in Naivasha town this year.
Perhaps it shouldn't be a surprise when people approach witchdoctors to try to retrieve valuable property. Not to be recommended, but when people lose the little they have, you can almost understand it. Will we read of another such incident in the next few weeks as our colleague looks for his stolen possessions?
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