A section of residents of Ahero town in Kisumu County angered by the publication of fierce lawyer Miguna Miguna’s Peeling Back the Mask Book, demonstrated, carried his statue, bought a coffin and burnt it along his statue.
They then poured the ashes in river Nyando. The residents went that far, following claims that Miguna Miguna had attacked former Prime Minister Raila Odinga in his book. That was on July 18, 2012.
Odinga was and is still considered a hero by many in most areas of Nyanza.
The Standard reported that Women, the youth and the elderly demonstrated along the busy Kisumu-Nairobi highway, causing a traffic snarl-up for over three hours.
Chants, ululations and whistle blowing rent the air as residents protested in anger.
Armed with the coffin the demonstrators sang funeral dirges and sounded drums of mourning borrowed from the Luo rituals of death and cleansing and performed routines required in fending off evil spirits that cause death.
They threatened to stage a mock burial at Miguna’s home in Buoye, few Kilometres from Ahero township, but it was later shelved and the effigy of Miguna and a ‘coffin’ were instead burnt to ashes at the Ahero-Kisii junction.
The ashes were then sprinkled in River Nyando hoping the evil spirits flow all the way to Egypt leaving behind a ‘cleansed’ village.
The protesters were led by then Nyando MP, Fred Outa. Outa is now Kisumu County senator.
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