For over three decades, Alexander Lunalo, 70, has been reaping big from circumcising boys every August.    

He would isolate himself and retreat to a hut that includes a shrine in his compound at Ichina village in Ikolomani Constituency, Kakamega County, to serve hundreds of boys. Some of the boys would be brought to him by their parents or guardians, while he went for others at their respective homes, trading centres and even along the roads.

But today, the revered circumciser is full of lamentations, saying his clients have reduced with many parents opting to have their children circumcised in hospitals under the care of churches.

And although he has adhered to laid-down medical regulations, the number of his clients has continued to dwindle.

“None of the boys I have circumcised and initiated into manhood has ever fallen ill or misbehaved. But some people, particularly church leaders, started a campaign to incite parents against traditional rites,” he told People Daily.

Mzee Lunalo, who had anticipated to make a tidy sum of money from the trade in August, says he was shocked when less than 50 boys turned up. Previously, hundreds of boys would troop to his homestead for the ceremony.

He warns that the current initiation process being conducted through churches is detrimental to the upbringing of boys. “The traditional process was not just about circumcision, but involved training and mentoring the initiates into responsible men. But some churches have disregarded this and are busy inciting the initiates against their cultures and traditions,” he says.

“I charge Sh1,000 at most. Some parents even ask me to serve their sons and they’ll pay me later, ,” he adds.

Investigations by People Daily established that some churches demand Sh10,000 to Sh20,000 per initiate.

Medical facilities charge between Sh1,000 and Sh10,000. Yet the parents still shoulder other expenses.

Traditional care-givers, locally referred to as “batili”, must be paid for what they demand, “otherwise the boys won’t heal well or will be haunted by bad luck such as impotence. Parents are forbidden from sexual intimacy with their wives, or any other woman, during this time”.

“We shall engage with clerics to air our concerns,” he adds.

Mzee Lunalo says many boys circumcised without the involvement of elders become disrespectful and ignorant of local culture and traditions. “We are not opposed to involvement of the church, as that has always happened. We would circumcise boys, treat them properly, and initiate them into adulthood before releasing them back to their parents where they healed to got physical and spiritual nourishment,” he said.

He says boys who undergo the rite of passage through church ceremonies miss many cultural teachings.

Like many other elders in Kenya, Mzee Lunalo vows that he will not allow his culture to be eroded, and that he will fight to convince the public about the need for elders in circumcision ceremonies.

“We shall engage with clerics to air our concerns. They are also our sons. I, for instance, have circumcised a number of clerics, including Catholic priests and pastors,” he says.