The Kalenjin council of elders has come out to refute claims that the Talai ritual conducted on Deputy President William Ruto was witchcraft.
This is after a section of netizens labelled the ritual a witchcraft.
On Friday, the Nandi Laibons Council of Elders conducted a cleansing ceremony for DP which took place in Kapsisiywo village.
The elders did Talai ritual to protect the DP from bad omen in his political career.
The chairman of Talai council of elders reverend (rtd) Canon James Baasi, said Talai elders are religious people and do not know anything about witchcraft.
“I am the chairman of Talai community, and I am a reverend. I’ve been an Anglican from 1953 to date. Those things people are saying, we don’t know anything about that,” chairman James said while speaking to a local station.
“May the lord forgive you. We’re religious people known for our role in foreseeing and blessing Kalenjin leaders since time immemorial. We don’t practice witchcraft or sorcery,” Chairman James said.
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Deputy President William Ruto met more than 50 Nandi leaders over the 2022 elections in the cleansing ceremony.
Some of the politicians who accompanied the DP were Uasin Gishu governor Jackson Mandago, Senator Samson Cherargei and Tinderet MP Julius Meli.
According to a local daily, Ruto was “doused with milk and honey from a special traditional gourd by elders dressed in wild animal skins,”
“The elders, popularly known as Orkoiyot, held prayers and offered sacrifices on a nearby hill. They included Christopher Arap Agul and Stephen Arap Tormoi,” the daily says.
According to the elders, their main work is to give blessings to leaders. They blessed Ruto so he could “have the power, courage and wisdom to pursue the leadership of this country,”
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