A family in Uriri Constituency of Migori County Thursday spent a night in the cold after a mob torched their home on accusation of killing 15 relatives through witchcraft.
Mzee Ouma Seka, his wife and four children had to spend a night at St. Mary’s Uriri Catholic church after an irate mob burnt all the four houses in the homestead and ensured nothing was salvaged.
The family also lost several chicken and a German shepherd dog that, though not in the burning houses, they were all caught and thrown into the burning houses.
Trouble for the family unfolded after a re-known Tanzanian spiritualist, referred only as Prophet Ogwang’, allegedly found an embalmed human arm believed to have been used by the family for ages to kill their relatives through witchcraft.
According to eye-witnesses, after the embalmed human arm was found in one of the family houses, the mob went wild threatening to kill the alleged owners. It forced armed security from Uriri police station to shoot in the air and use teargas to rescue the family from the irate mob.
However, 87-year-old Mzee Seka and his equally aging wife were injured in the melee before police rushed them to Uriri dispensary where they were treated and discharged.
Earlier, Prophet Ogwang’ who had spent the previous night in the neighbourhood praying and foretelling deaths of more relatives in the hands of the accused sorcerers, had threatened to unearth and remove the paraphernalia in the presence of police officers.
The besieged family had been accused of being responsible for the deaths of close family relatives, the latest being a teenage boy who was buried a day to the bizarre incident.
Uriri sub county OCPD Mr. Daniel Mwanzia said they had launched investigations into the incident and they would take appropriate action against the perpetrators.
However, a group of villagers accused the Tanzanian Prophet of causing mayhem in every village he goes to and warned him to stop his antics of incitements against innocent people.
In 2017, the same prophet was banned from setting his foot in Suna East sub county of Migori where his activities and witchcraft prophesies led to burning of a home at Witharaga village.
By George Agimba
