Kisii Governor James Ongwae has set up a witchcraft taskforce to assist in unraveling the issues surrounding witchcraft murders in the county.
The taskforce, through the County Department of Culture have been given the task to find out and determine the extent of deep-seated superstitions that have seen the elderly murdered on suspicion of witchcraft.
This comes after the recent brutal killing of four women in Marani Sub-County last week after being suspected of practicing witchcraft.
The taskfroce comprises county staff and stakeholders from members of the public and human rights organisations. The group will probe and report back to the governor in three weeks’ time for further action.
While responding to the murder of four women in his home ground- Sindege Mayaka (83), Jemima Mironga (60), Sigara Onkware (62), and Agnes Ototo (57)- the governor said their killings makes no sense.
He said his government will foot postmortem and burial expenses of the four women. He added that if Kisii residents do not protect their senior citizens, they risk losing them on such flimsy grounds.
Meanwhile, police in Marani on Sunday arrested a student who was allegedly abducted by t he suspected witches sparking the lynching of the four women.
Detectives are pursuing more suspects on the run. At least six suspects connected to the lynching are in custody after appearing in court.