Killing of Mt Elgon politician linked to planned controversial cleansing ritual

Slain Mt Elgon politician Nathan Wasama was leading a cleansing ritual that involved cutting down two significant fig trees in Mt Elgon and Trans-Nzoia, which was blamed for the misfortune affecting the Sabaot and Bukusu communities.

The ritual ceremony had, over the past year, faced strong opposition from a senior politician in Mt Elgon, due to its perceived political significance."This is a crucial ceremony, but we are facing frustration and intimidation from some senior politicians that the cutting of the fig trees will have a negative political impact," Wasama told journalists in January this year in Kitale.