"Elders for Hire" :The spirits of our ancestors have departed from our Kenyan elders

African elders have always been revered and held with high standards owing to the great role they play both in the cultural, social and political spaces, sometimes even economic spaces. As people who are custodians of sacred spaces and ultimate bearers of a community’s customary knowledge, they undergo a rigorous traditional ritual training to achieve the expertise and seniority they hold. In Kenya today, it is almost however hard to tell whether the spirits of the ancestors wisdom and benevolence rest upon their judgement and if even worse their blessings. In every political season, leaders run to their backyards to seek these elders’ blessings, an activity which gives them both political mileage over the rest and also authenticates their leadership. I have run out of count of how many times our national leaders have gotten blessing from the same community but with different elders , which sends only one strong message, our elders are for hire. It appear the last time we had elders unite for the common good of the country was when the three elders from Luo, Kalenjin and Gema united in 2018 to support the handshake which was intended for the good of the country. A move which saw for the first time the three elders, in Kisumu led by Gema Chairman Bishop Peter Njenga, his Kalenjin counterpart Major John Sei and Luo council executive Apostle Stephen Oludhe asking the politicians to stop fighting over positions. Today our elders speak not the words from their spiritual authority but the words of their clients, it is a dead institution by definition and purpose, and they fight for positions and recognition even fighting for roles of blessings, which is quite unusual from the traditional society where only those who deserved blessings were anointed to lead the people. They pour libations no more but only division among their people, anyone including myself could walk into and out of their shrines as a leader of my people; I would only have to carry with me some sacrificial lamb. One thing is clear though, the spirit of our ancestors have departed from our elders. Fortunately for our elders, this year the business has gone up, they are called to high state meetings, they sit down and dine and leave satisfied. Over the period of less than two months alone we have had two Luhya elders meetings, two Kalenjin elders meeting and more are still to come, they have thrown away their sacred wands and are busy being subjects to people who are furthering their agendas without caring what it portends to their people. From the Luhya elders crying they have been forgotten by Obado in appointments in 2019 august, failure of Luo elders to condemn the young Babu Owino who shot someone to kirinyaga elders defending Waiguru when she was accused of graft and promising to curse Raila for attacking her in 2017. The Talai elders have now emerged to have two factions, how and why still a mystery but one thing is clear; there is a game being played and it is for the master. I mean I am only left to wonder whether we still need these dead self-serving institutions or maybe it is time we are left alone to approach our ancestors direct and ask for intervention and discernment to be able to crown our own leaders. Before things fall apart for all of us and the wrath of our forefathers befall us , we need to put more trust in our own judgement and make choices inspired by track records and agenda not who has the crown because I assure you in the words of Mutahi Kagwe, “Anyone can get it”.