Mijikenda Community Initiate Mekatilili Peace Walk in Kilifi
By The COAST Reporter
Email, thecoastnewspaper@gmail.com
The annual _Mekatilili wa Menza peace walk starts today (October 11, 2024) in Kilifi County with calls to promote peace and protect the elderly in society.
Cultural enthusiasts and peace crusaders will for the next nine days walk while singing traditional songs through five of the seven constituencies of the county covering 350 kilometres as part of the build-up exercises for _Mashujaa_ _Day_ celebrations to be observed on October 20, 2024.
The exercise started at the Rabai deputy county commissioner’s office this morning and will see participants walking through Kambe-Ribe in Rabai constituency, Mwarakaya (Kilifi South constituency), Makomboani and Tsangatsini (Kaloleni Constituency), and Bamba and Kauma (Ganze Constituency).
Joseph Karisa Mwarandu, the secretary general of the Malindi District Cultural Association (MADCA), told journalists in Malindi town before departing to Rabai on Mazingira Day (Thursday) that the walk will end at Beneath the Baobabs, an event space used to celebrate art and culture situated in Kilifi North constituency.
According to him the participants would walk during the day and hold community dialogues in the evenings, sensitizing communities on the need to protect older persons of society with a view to ending violence against them for any reason saying the elders are great resources.
“This is part of our campaign against the wanton killing of older persons alleged to be practicing witchcraft. We want our communities to know that older persons are a great resource and need to be protected,” he said.
The secretary said the vice of killing older persons in the county had reached unacceptable proportions and needed to be stopped as too many older persons were experiencing physical and mental violence forcing many to flee their homes.
Stan Kiraga, one of the founder members of MADCA, called on both the national and county government to take a proactive role in ensuring that older persons were protected through policy and the establishment of homes for them.
He said that the county had only two rescue centres for older persons fleeing violence in their homes established by MADCA.
He urged the two levels of government to build more safe havens for victims of violence, especially against the older people.
Ms Jean Githinji and Ms Pucha Sharma, who run civil society organizations in Kenya, supported the initiative to promote peace, and especially to protect the elderly against such violence.
Two victims of the violence, who cannot be identified for safety reasons, narrated how they had been forced to abandon their homes and live as refugees at the rescue centre following attacks from known and unknown persons.
The elderly men, who fled their homes in the years 2020 and 2021 said they feared returning home as their assailants were still walking free despite some of them having been positively identified.
