Kenyan Justice

Kenyan Justice

Last Monday morning our Kenyan coworkers told us about an incident that had occurred just a short distance from where we are living. A man was found dead two days earlier along a small road that goes right by our house. He was naked. Parts of his body were badly swollen. He smelled like the local alcoholic brew. A house had been burned down. What had happened?

The man had been hired by RITT a few days a few days before his death to help harvest some of the maize crop. It was said that after he got his pay, he headed directly to a small hut nearby where a woman made and served illegal “local brew”. To our surprise, we found out that it was located very near to where we live. It was rumored that his body had been dumped by the side of the road by the others with whom he had been drinking. Some people had heard him moan during the night, but they were too afraid to do anything. A woman found him dead the next morning.

Since none of those involved would talk, no one was sure what caused his death. Perhaps the woman (who was not from the local ethnic group) had mixed some deadly poison or chemical in her brew. But no one else had died after drinking it. Or, perhaps he drank too much. Maybe he was killed by his drinking pals. The police were called. They did not come, as is typical in Kenya. A death certificate was needed to determine the cause of death. When the police didn’t come, someone arranged to get one from a local chief. Since the police were not coming to dispense justice, some of the local people took justice into their own hands. They went to the lady’s brew house the next night and burnt it down. Interestingly, we weren’t aware of any of these happenings.

The dead man, who was not a Christian, was married and a father of two. He was living with his brother’s family on a small farm next door to RITT. His wife had left him and was living in a different area of Kenya. He was buried last Monday near RITT, alongside a small path. The RITT community and the local Reformed Church congregation, of which his brother is a member, offered support, condolences and testimony to the dead man’s extended family. We were heartened to see their Christian spirit in action.

More later. R & B