A woman is calling on Coast leaders to hold rituals and make a sacrifice at the Likoni Ferry Channel that to make bodies of deceased mother and daughter float by themselves.
In a viral video doing rounds on social media after it was first shared by Mombasa County Government Watch on Friday, a woman identified as Flora Choka who claims to be famous in the Coastal region, has said it is taking too long for divers to locate the bodies of a mother and her daughter who plunged into the Indian Ocean on Sunday because residents forget their traditional rituals.
In a message for Coastal leaders, she says they should make some rituals at the scene, slaughter goats and cattle.
She suggested that the Sh2 million Joho gave for private divers from South Africa would have been given to Musa (celebrated diver at Likoni) who understands the ritual.
"Our woman and her kid is inside the water, have you forgotten we are Coast people? The rituals? Look for goats, cattle, slaughter them and the bodies will float (Mwanamke wetu yuko ndani ya bahari na mtoto, mmesahau kwamba sisi ni wa Pwani? Mmesahau visomo? Tafuteni mbuzi, ng'ombe, chinja pale, atakua juu kwa juu)," she said, sparking a debate on Facebook, with some saying it was wrong as per their religion, while others suggest that she should be listened to.
Over the same rituals, another elder from the Coast who sought for anonymity with the Standard, had earlier said that they made sacrifices in the ocean to stop bad accidents from happening.
"Nowadays there are no enough elders to talk about this matter, the economy is also poor that no one is willing to offer his or her cattle for such rituals (Siku hizi hakuna wazee wa kutosha kujadili suala hili na hali ya uchumi pia umewalemea wengi hakuna mtu wakati huu anaweza kujitolea kutoa ng’ombe ama kuongoza mchango wake kwa sababu ya tambiko kama zama zetu)," said the elder.