Widow cleansing, inheritance still rife among the Luo

By Heminigilder Mugeni

Violence against women is a vice that is deeply entrenched in some cultures where it is perpetrated through social-cultural norms, reinforcing retrogressive acts that strip women of their dignity.

The Luo still practice wife inheritance with widows forced to undergo cleansing rituals, including engaging in sexual intercourse with strangers before re-marrying.

In some of the villages where this practice is common, the unintended consequences has been the spread of HIV/Aids.

Homesteads remain deserted in Wagoma Village, located 57km from Kisumu City in Nyanza region, where livestock can been seen grazing on scores of unmarked graves.

When 47-year-old Pamela Ooro’s husband died more than a decade ago, she was clueless about HIV. She, however, was aware that the Luo custom required her to be inherited, but not before cleansing.

“I have been cleansed twice. When my first husband died, I went through the ritual which requires me to engage sexually with a stranger and without protection, and then I remarried. After that my second husband died and I went through the ritual again. Luo traditionalists say the cleansing will free the clan of evil spirits,” narrated Ooro.

The cleansing ritual is known as Tero Chola and starts three or more days after a husband’s burial depending on the clan.

The stranger is sought to stay with the widow overnight and have sexual intercourse, with the elders tasked with ensuring the ritual takes place.

Previously, elders would appoint a man who would be in charge of cleansing all widows in the village.

But now the practice has been commercialized with people who perform the sexual cleansing act asking for as much as Sh20, 000 to perform the ritual.

“They ask for a lot of money between Sh10,000 and Sh20,000 and even more. You know once they cleanse you they help you erect a new structure to symbolize new beginning but you cater for the program which is very expensive for widows.”

The end of cleansing signifies the end of mourning and the widow and her children are fully accepted in the society.

However, the Luo Council of Elders has denied that the rituals are performed today.

“We stopped doing that. What we do is just lock the widow and her husband’s corpse in a room but they don’t engage sexually,” said council’s chairperson Bondo Sub-County Mzee Odida Bwoga.

But even as this retrogressive ritual is still being practiced, the Constitution outlaws violence and abuse against women with the offense punishable under the law since it infringes on human rights.

Given the widespread of HIV/AIDS in Kenya, wife inheritance and widow cleansing have contributed to the spread of the virus in Nyanza region.

According to the National Aids Control Council, 65 per cent of new HIV infections reported in Nyanza region, with Homa-Bay County taking the lead.