A young girl collapse after inhaling love charm

By Vaati Mwandikwa  

Witchcraft is an ancient art which utilizes the powers of nature and the mind to bring about a desired effect. Specific combinations of natural elements draw specific energies. One can tap these energies by stimulating the senses to induce altered states of consciousness that intensify moods and feelings.

Since time immemorial many people have believed on witchcraft especially love charm which is intended to draw love into one’s life. When this charm is used on somebody one tends to behave in a way that he/she is attracted to other partners.

Many people especially youth have been using this on young girls. They say that using charm makes work easier since most of girls are very rigid and primitive. Getting this service they say involve visiting herbalists who mostly are old ladies. They are given something, which they give as to girls as gifts. It is alleged that when a beneficiary doesn’t follow the instructions given the charm can affect him/her negatively.

In the beginning of this month form one from a secondary school in kyuso district who had fallen in love with another form one girl without success. This made him to seek assistant from his grandfather who is an herbalist.

After the boy got the traditional herbs from his grandfather, he carried them to school with hope that he would be successfully to win the girl without struggling and in secret. The boy put the herb in the Caro light cream (a skin lightening cream) bottle and got in the class.

On entering the class he made the girl to sniff and immediately a girl collapsed and she was in a comma which means the herb had changed to poison.

The students rioted because of the boy stupid act. The ugly students turned on the boy and wanted to stone the boy but he was saved by the watchman and teachers who were attracted by the round noise.

The principle, the deputy, some P.A teachers and some students went to the police station to give out the statement. The girl was taken at Mwingi district hospital for medical checkup. The boy was taken to the police station for discipline.

After the boy was taken to the police station he said that he has been approaching the girl to be his girl friend without success, this made him to go to his grandfather who is a traditional herbalist to assist him to get the girl and so he did.  

Soil fertility affects Farming

 By Catherine Susan

Kyuso District is located in the Eastern parts of Kenya, where drought is one of the main problems affecting farming processes. According to the history of community members, the area used to receive enough rainfall and there were no drought problems. Food in the farms was doing well and there were minimal crop pests and diseases. But the rains have been reducing each passing year and currently the rains have become so scarce and unpredictable. 

People of this Area are going through hard life due low productivity of the land caused by soil fertility. This Problem has been increasing almost every year as the soil is being degraded. Soil fertility is alleged to be caused by cutting down of trees hence leaving the land bare as a result of soil erosion.

Soil is natural and every living this found it and therefore most people do not consider it as important.  People can take week and months trying to build a dam to prevent water flow but few will spare time to conserve soil.

Resident of this area seem to lack knowledge on the effects of cutting trees, this is evident by the rate at which they are cutting down trees. The erosion has caused valleys and gullies all over and hence facilitation more erosions.

The wind the area is also very strong due to lack of wind breakers such as tree and other soil cover. The tree seed leaves that are suitable for making the soil fertile but the leaves find themselves more that a kilometer away 10minutes after dropping. 

The farmers, from the help of extension officers have resulted to growing of traditional orphan’s crops such as sorghum which does well in the area but with time the production goes down leaving the farmers confused.

Talking to farmer in the area it is evident that they need training on soil conservation, tree planting and way of improving their yield. Secondly, to do a productive farming soil PH test is required so that people can grow crop products that can do well in the region.

Kamutharaka the death trap

By Carlos mutua

When the name ‘Kamutharaka’ is mentioned to Kyuso residents not only the neighboring tribe that comes in the mind but grievance for the death of the beloved ones. It is the name given to one of the catchment area of the Kyuso location. It is the dam built on the eastside of Kyuso rock next to ‘Mbwani’ earth dam.  

 It used to supplies clean water to the Kyuso community for all domestic uses in the nineties; elderly say that the catchment bore the name ‘kamuthalaka’ after a man from Tharaka community drown when bathing hence the name. Then followed a series of death from young children to adult even two mentally disable people.

 In 1996 the family of mwinzi had to bare with the hard reality after loss of their teenage girls who had gone to fetch water. The source say that one of the deceased slipped on the wet rock when trying to pull out the jerrican that had slipped into the water; fell into the dam then her sister slipped in also when pulling her out.

  The grieved residents headed by the area chief filled it up to some level with hardcore after the death of the teenage girls. The residents stopped using the water for domestic uses like cooking after incidents.

  Then followed the death of two students from Kyuso High school in two consecutive years when taking bath at the dam due to scarcity of the commodities at the school at that time. Their fellow student said that they slipped in and died as they did not know how to swim.   

  Last year and this year the resident had to bare with the loss of two mentally disabled people ( Musee and Kagwira).some of the  resident are using the dam in bathing hence exposing themselves to death.

 The residents of Kyuso hope the government is going to take action and fence it or have it filled up with more hardcore to evade more death.

STRUGGLE TO THE DOLLAR BAR

By Ireri M. Mwaniki

Struggle for survival! Poverty, extreme poverty indeed is rising at alarming rates in Kyuso .With most homesteads unable to spend as much as a dollar per day, the struggle to cross this line has been getting its pace in the recent past.

Extra small businesses are looming. With most of the involved business persons unable to raise as much as fifty shillings per day, the poverty cry is still unresponded  by their tireless efforts to make the heads meet as most households have  at least  six members which is a large number to cater for.

Hawking in this region has not been recognizable; probably following small numbers practicing it. However, in the recent past, it is getting its roots deep in this region dominating the other businesses taking place deep in the villages.

Mbwani and Kalole villages have won a major recognition in this kind of business. One renowned hawker has stolen the show in these two villages and neighborhoods .His determination in his business has made him a name among the villagers. Being a father of six and having a wife to cater for pushes him even harder to keep his business moving.

The hawker has been operating in the villages for some time now. With most residents living in extreme poverty conditions, he has framed his business to suit his customer’s conditions and needs by breaking down expensive wholesale commodities like sugar, cooking fat, salt, tea leaves and other essentials into smaller and cheaper fractions.

With a kilo of sugar costing at around two hundred shillings in the normal shops, most of these villagers frequent his premises as they are probably unable to raise the money .Most stunningly, he has broken the sugar quantities to even smaller fractions going for as low as two shillings, a clear picture of the extreme poverty among most of his customers.

Evolution of Kyuso market

By Stanley Mainde
Kyuso market is just like any other although it is believed that Kyuso market is among the top most developed market and even trading zone within Kyuso District .The Market is located just in the middle of the Kyuso town. The site of the market is usually fit and okay for everyone for there has never been complains about its location either to traders and customers.  

 Due to development of the town, the market has also improved and it’s currently with largest population of the traders and goods on the trade in Kyuso sub-county.

Kyuso Market days is on Saturday although it is alleged that it was given another market day which was expected to be on Wednesdays. Traders come from different places as far as Mwingi, Tseikuru, Tharaka, Ngomeni, Kamuw’ongo and many other places.

Kyuso district being a semi arid land produce less in terms of food produce throughout the year and therefore the residents must get produce from the neighboring districts. Due to the latter the trader bring varieties of goods such as fruit and vegetables, cereals and clothes

Due to such kind of increase in traders’ population, issues used to arise as some people fight due to disagreement amongst themselves. This was sometime caused by traders from outside the Sub-county who would sell their produce at lower price than the locals and hence stiff completion. There were also issues of stolen items and breakage into others property.

It is believed that nowadays such cases are never heard in Kyuso market as they used to happen during the market day in the early days. This is due to the maximum security within the Kyuso town and the market during the market day, with the help of the Kyuso O.C.P.D and his fellow police officers. Apart from the normal police patrol, there has been established government officers and financial institution such as banks and Sacco in town which are guarded day and night. These administration police guard also help in maintaining law and order during the market day.  

The market is also fenced for the safety of the traders and their goods to protect their property from being damaged by animals like goats, cattle and donkeys.

Kyuso market traders have been requesting for more space for the market enlargement as the market is usually populated. This challenge is yet to be looked into as the newly elected Area Member of parliament Hon. Munuve Mati promised to look for more land for market development at Kyuso.

It is believed that if the market will be expanded it will attract more investors hence reducing cost of living through commodity price reduction. It is also expected to create space for people socialization for some people use the market days as a meeting point          

ILLICIT BREWS IN KYUSO

By James Owek

Government lobby to gain control of local brew sector is being pulled back by some villagers and officers who have been given mandate to implement the ban in Kyuso district; this is because the stakeholders concerned seem to be sleeping on their work. 

There have been reports all over the country that people have died due to this local brew and residents still brew and take it.  In the year 2007, three people were reported dead due to taking of local brew in Kyuso district on reason that may have been caused by the quality of the brew which is below the standards. It is also not tested and approved by Kenya Bureau of standards and hence the brew is harmful for human consumption.

Ironically, people making the brew are just approximately 5km from the administrative offices in Kyuso. The funny thing is that the local brew is being sold and taken in broad daylight.  Big question from the residents living in Kyuso is, “is it because the officers concerned are corrupt or is it because do not know their responsibility as officers.”

The big complain from the residents is that , many of the unemployed youths after completing their education are engaging themselves in drinking of the brew because to them it’s the cheapest compared to other alcoholic drinks sold in bars. The residents are urging the government to intervene in curbing this menace 

The administration should come with forums to sensitizing the youth and local brewer on the risk of consuming local brew. It is alleged that may be this is the reason why there still some people who are taking it and brewing it.