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Address causes of these mass killings

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Published on Thursday, 29 May 2008 01:28
The killing of 15 helpless old people in Kisii, that were widely reported by both the electronic and print media, was horrifying. Witchcraft, like many other evil, is an old practice. Those in it are shunned by society.

Never before, however, have the people of Kisii taken such drastic measures to eliminate them from the society. What is wrong with us? We have seen this attitude manifest itself in some parts of the country after elections, to thieves in Meru, cattle thieves in Nyando and so on.

While the Government hurries to arrest the so called perpetrators, the underlying causes should be known.

In my opinion, the problem is:

* The justice system, which lets off the hook known criminals.

* Weak witchcraft laws, which cannot sustain a conviction.

* Lack of policies that can inculcate morality, patriotism, cohesiveness, tolerance and respect of the law as opposed to fear of it.

Until the underlying issues are addressed, the problem will not just melt away. I hope that the post-election violence taught our leaders a few lessons, and they will, indeed, lead from the front for us to get a new constitution, acceptable to the majority of Kenyans, the soonest possible.