This archive report was first published on 27 July 2021.
On July 27, 2021, a shocking incident unfolded in Namakhele village, Kabuchai constituency, Bungoma County, when Martin Juma, a 46-year-old jobless man, dug his own grave in readiness to commit suicide over a Ksh 15,000 debt.
According to Juma, he was broke and unable to pay the debt, which had been a source of stress and annoyance from numerous people in the area.
"I did that because I'm was broke and couldn’t pay the debt," Juma said, explaining his desperate decision.
The incident drew a mob, just days after a middle-aged man in the same location slaughtered a cow and drank its blood before disappearing.
Area Chief Bonface Ndiera, who responded to the scene, expressed concern over the rise of such cases in the area and called upon pastors to intercede and pray for the residents' redemption.
Local elder Kizito Lukorito explained that, according to Luhya customs, a person found excavating their own grave should be harshly whipped, a black sheep butchered to purify bad spirits, and a banana trunk buried in the grave to prevent the family from losing a close member.
