Kikuyu elders suspends this year’s initiation for boys

Antony Gitonga
3 Min Read
The elders noted that the new learning system has forced the community to change the initiation dates.

The Kikuyu Council of Elders has now suspended this year’s initiation for boys until next year when they will be transiting from Junior Secondary School (JSS) to Secondary School.

Under the ‘Kiama Kia Maa’, the elders noted that circumcising the Grade 8 boys this year would have no meaning as they would return back to Grade 9 which is still domiciled in primary schools.

For years, the community has circumcised boys who are transiting from primary to secondary but this year, the process has changed following the introduction of the Competency Based Curriculum (CBC) system.

Speaking in Naivasha after a meeting for the top leaders from the community, the elders challenged the church which is also involved in the initiation ceremony to also change their dates.

The Council Director of Culture Kigochi Waimeri noted that the new learning system had forced the community to change the initiation dates.

Flanked by the elders, Kigochi said that the real meaning of circumcision in the community meant transiting from boyhood to manhood.

“Those boys who will be circumcised this year will return back to primary school and they won’t change mentally and hence this decision by the community elders,” he said.

Kigochi at the same termed the ongoing politics coupled with plans to impeach the Deputy President as unhealthy for the country and one the reasons for the financial crisis.

“We condemn plans to impeach the DP and the ongoing politics as this has seen all infrastructure projects like roads stall and its time we united and worked hard for this country,” he said.

On his part, an elder Joseph Thiong’o said that they supported the new curriculum which had seen the boys get an extra year in primary schools.

He was however quick to note that the council would not force any boys to forego this year’s initiation ceremony adding that this had been left to the families to decide.

“The council has deliberated on the initiation issue for long and we have agreed that we allow our boys one more year in primary school before been circumcised next year,” he said.

Another elder Ng’era Waforo decried rising cases of suicide among the young in the community terming the trend as worrying and with tens of lives lost every day.

“We are calling for cleansing ceremony on the scenes where these acts were committed be they in homes, on trees and rivers as the deaths are worrying,” he said.

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