A case in which three people were found guilty of murder has exposed the intrigues that often lead to the killing of suspected witches in the Coast region.
In the case before a Malindi court, it was established that a cleansing ceremony organised by local leaders in Kilifi to save a 'bewitched' woman from death turned tragic, resulting in three individuals being sent to prison.
Safari Kombe and Kazungu Kadenge will spend 35 years in prison for the murder of Karisa Katoi Kani. The two suspected Kani of bewitching Kombe’s wife.
On December 8, 2016, Ndemi Sub-location Chief Ronald Safari convened a meeting at Kombe’s homestead where the cleansing ceremony was to take place.
The cleansing ritual involved the deceased holding a cup of water toward Kombe’s wife while uttering the words, “I have been told I bewitched you; if that is true, may this water I have given you heal you.”
“Kombe demanded a meeting with the deceased because he suspected him of being responsible for his wife’s illness through witchcraft,” Mr Safari told the court in Malindi.
He yielded to Kombe’s demands and summoned the families to attend a cleansing ceremony at the complainant’s home.
“I later received information that Kombe’s wife had died, even though the cleansing ceremony had gone well,” he said.
The administrator informed the court that it was due to the death of Kombe’s wife that he and his accomplices sought to avenge her death.
Mr Katana Charo attended the ritual ceremony, which later turned tragic.
He told the court that the area assistant chief had requested him to escort the deceased to the cleansing ritual.
He described how the deceased held a cup of water while facing the sick woman before uttering the healing words to her.
“We were just about to leave the homestead after completing the ritual when Kombe, Kadenge, and Kahindi began attacking Kani,” he said.
Mr Charo told the court that Kani was attacked because he was suspected of using magic to cause the death of Kombe's wife.
Other witnesses described how they tried in vain to save Kani from the merciless beatings inflicted by the three men.
“There was nothing I could do to assist the deceased,” Katana Katoi said.
Kani’s widow, Dama Karisa Katoi, recalled witnessing his gruesome murder.
“As the ceremony began, I left Kombe’s home to get food for my husband. Before I had gone far, I heard screams and returned to find him being assaulted by the three men,” she said.
She added, “My husband was being hit with sticks… and he appeared to have died. I found them hitting him on the head with the sticks. After ensuring that he had died, they placed the sticks on him. I sat by the body until police officers arrived to collect it.”
Corporal Stanley Maritim stated that Kani had suffered multiple injuries to his back and the back of his head.
He recovered the murder weapons, identified as sticks by the witnesses, and presented them in court.
“According to the post-mortem examination, the cause of death was a severe head injury consistent with a blunt object aimed at the head,” the officer said.
Kombe, Kadenge, and Kahindi denied killing Kani.
Kombe stated that the deceased was suspected of bewitching his wife and confirmed that he had been summoned to perform a cleansing ceremony to cast out the evil spell.
“My wife passed away, which angered a crowd at the scene. The deceased was subsequently beaten by a group of people on suspicion of being a witch,” he said.
Kadenge, who is Kombe’s brother, explained the attack occurred while he was going about his normal duties on his farm.
Kahindi, for his part, stated that he was away from home on the day in question and only returned upon receiving news of his mother’s death.
“This prompted me to return home to determine the cause of her death. I saw the deceased lying next to my mother’s body,” he said.
Justice Reuben Nyakundi reviewed this evidence, found it sufficient, and convicted the three, imposing a 35-year prison sentence each for murder.
Aggrieved by the conviction and sentence, the three filed an appeal to the Court of Appeal, requesting that it be overturned.
However, three appellate judges—Agnes Murgo, Dr Laibuta Kibaya, and George Odunga reached the same verdict, noting that the evidence sufficiently proved the three appellants’ involvement in the murder of Kani.
“The involvement of each of the appellants in attacking and beating the deceased remains uncontroverted. Each of them was armed with a stick or a rungu, and each of them played a role in inflicting fatal injuries on the deceased’s head and back. The vicious attack by the three appellants, together with the injuries the deceased sustained, are what ultimately led to his death,” said the judges.
The judges upheld the 35-year prison sentence imposed on Kombe and Kadenge but replaced Kahindi’s sentence with 12 years.
The judges noted that belief in witchcraft does not justify a deviation from the law through private punishment of a suspected witch, except in instances where the accused has been placed in such fear of immediate danger to their own life that the defense of grave and sudden provocation can be considered valid.
The appellate court remarked that, aside from rumours and allegations, no evidence was presented to demonstrate that the deceased was indeed a witch or that he was responsible for the death of Kombe’s wife.
“Given that the defence of provocation for reasons of witchcraft is not a defence, and considering that nothing the deceased said or did could have provoked the appellants, we find that the defence of provocation was not established and, for this reason, this ground is also dismissed,” said Justices Murgo, Laibuta and Odunga.
The judges also observed that there was nothing in the deceased’s statement during the ceremony that could have so sharply provoked the appellants as to lead them to brutally attack him in the manner they did.
