Dennis Lumiti

A disaster in Shinyalu Constituency in Kakamega County is making villagers mourn in low tones as rumours on what transpired spreads like wild fire. 

Residents of Bungaya and Shina villages of Malimili sub-location are in mopurning after they lost eight villagers to what some claim is a spell from a witchdoctor.

The talk in the villages is that a stealing mission went wrong after the witchdoctor cast a spell on changaa raw materials that were stolen.

 Majority of the victims are men aged between 30 and 45 but a mother in her 60s is also affected.

 What is even more frightening to the residents is that the witchdoctor, who doubles as a traditional circumciser, warned that more than 25 villagers who partook the chang’aa are going to die.

All those who have died, some hurriedly buried while others are still in morgues, exhibit the same symptoms – swellings on the hands.

 “It all started by having swollen hands. But the lady had her face swelling in addition to the hands,” said Aggrey Shiyundi, a villager.

Stolen Kangara

 Aggrey said a chang’aa distiller from Shina village allegedly sent some boys to steal ‘kangara’ from a neighbouring village.

 “We are told the boys managed to steal the raw material and delivered to the brewer who then ended up distilling chang’aa from it,” narrated another villager.

 He added: “When the aggrieved party who is also a distiller, discovered that her raw materials were missing, she sought the services of a local witchdoctor who asked for a sample of the chang’aa.”

 It was delivered to him and he cast a spell on those who had stolen the ‘kangara’ plus the ones who had taken the final product. That is when tragedy struck.

 “We have now lost eight residents of these two villages amid reports that the witchdoctor said all the over 25 who tasted the liquor will die. So fear has overwhelmed the residents,” said Kizito Anzimbu, the Malimili sublocation assistant chief.