Coffin dumped at Kisumu education officer’s home
A police officer opens a small coffin that had dead cat inside. It was dumped outside the home of a Ministry of Education officer in Lisuka village in Kisumu county. PHOTO/JACOB OWITI
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Police opened the coffin and found a dead white cat in it
The family of an education officer in Kisumu County is living in fear after a coffin was dumped at their doorstep.
Mr Elias Oganda, 56, a Quality assurance officer in the Ministry of Education said this was the fourth time in six months that a strange casket was dumped at his homestead.
Police opened the coffin and found a dead white cat in it. They suspect that the cat had been strangled as there was no blood oozing from any part of its body.
Area police boss Peter Omanwa confirmed that this was not the first incident being witnessed at the home.
Mr Oganda said the coffin was discovered by his wife Joyce Oganda, 50, at midnight when she was went to answer a call of nature.
“It was a 30 by 40 centimetre coffin with a golden cross on top placed at the door step of the house,” says Mrs Oganda.
Mr Oganda said: “My family has never known the luxury of sleep for the past one year because of different forms of witchcraft practices I’m witnessing by unknown people in my homestead”.
He said the intention of the suspects still remained a mystery since he has never been involved in a land dispute.
“This is my father’s land and I don’t understand why some individuals would want to intimidate me with an intention of using witch craft to evict me from my family land,” said the father of six.
Residents camped at the officer’s home the whole day to witness a witchdoctor, sourced from Sirare at the Kenya, Tanzania border, perform rituals claiming he will identify who was responsible for the act.
In July 16, 2013, unknown people dumped a coffin at the entrance of Mr Oganda’s homestead. Inside the coffin was a dead black cat that had been dressed in a tie, earrings on the ears and the waist. The cat was also wrapped in a white piece of cloth.
The coffin was burnt but on July 18,2013 , another coffin was brought and this time it was carrying the head of a dog with a warning letter stating that if the family burns the coffin, they will be forced to leave their home immediately.
Another coffin was dumped at the homestead on March 12, 2014 last week and the fourth one was on March 16, 2014.
The coffin and the dead cat was later burnt by the angry residents after the witchdoctor failed to identify the culprits.
