Money:Solution to all problems or direction to all problems?

For a fortnight today,the media has devoted acres of space and airtime holding a spotlight to the life of a fortunate or unfortunate  millionaire,depending on your standpoint. Readers,listeners and viewers alike have  been told stories fronted  on various accounts that probably led to the demise of young,resilient Samuel Wanjiru.

While the death of Wanjiru remains shrouded in mystery, for now,money points to this death, with sociologists and editorials calling for a fresh approach in  helping people who get too  rich when they are too young to handle  the fortune.

In the build up to his death,Wanjiru's woes spilled out. Only this year,there was a divorce threat by his wife,Trizah,on grounds of a strained  relationship with her mother-in-law.However ,things appeared to cool down when,weeks ago,The couple was seen on TV and in the papers announcing their reconciliation.

In retrospect,it is now an open book that Wanjiru displayed this gesture to  save his career,nay,marriage to Triza.To me,this was done to enhance his image to the world.And soon returned to his WWW world---  wealth,women and wine.In aword,if anybody should be blamed for Wanjiru's death,it is his manager.For how could he sit and watch Wanjiru,24,get lost in money?I don't understand.I f I were he or she I would have sought out a way of helping this youngster survive in a world of wealth at a tender age.

Having said that,I think it is time closer attention is accorded to helping young people who are favored by providence to fall on fortune
cope with it.There are many in this list.Musicians,artists ,footballers,and professionals in lucrative ventures.

The Sungu Sungu Bloodbath in Kisii County

Beneath this deceptive landscape that speaks of calm,peace and plenty lie overly  heartrending stories.They are stories of pain,sorrow, and bitterness.They are stories told by different men and women here,but the subject is invariably the same---Sungusungu.

A common statement among those whose lives have taken   sad,new permanent paths ,thanks to the bloodcurdling attacks by the outlawed group here is this:"the government has neglected us",and this said in whispers---to a trusted listener.For the group is rather rash, thin-skinned to criticism and fast to anger and action.

Despite the spate of killings meted out on witchcraft and robbery suspects over the years here,the government does not--according to residents--"seem keen to help them".The residents say government officials participated in the community policing project that gave birth to Sungusungu,but has now given the victims a wide berth as things get worse by the day.And the killings continue,albeit in a measured frequency.

Established in the  late 90s in what was then intended to reduce crime levels in  the Gusii region,Sungusungu has over the years slowly but steadily spread its claws here,becoming synonymous with  terror and bloodletting across the region.It was in a secret deal between the local chiefs and residents that the group was initiated.

Residents have often woken up to scary and brutal beheading of suspects.And this is a fact that is only too well understood and known by those who have had the misfortune to experience its callous,deathly claws.  And here,no one is spared.From witchcraft and robbery suspects to those critical of the group's operations,one feeling is palpable---Fear.



Although no official record exists regarding the number of people whose deaths point back to the gang,dozens have been killed in night attacks.The only evidence fatherless homes and frustrated folks.

A source who asked the Hard-nosed Column to name her Damaris said no victim wants to talk about them(Sungusungu) for fear of reprisal attacks or victimization.

"We live in fear.Most of the people killed are obviously innocent,but we have no recourse.None.The government is just watching,"she said

Damaris,a mother of three,lost her husband in an operation that left five men beheaded and left lying on the road.She was eight months pregnant then.Letters went round warning against night vigils ,and ordering burials at cemeteries.

"It was about 3am when they came.One of them knocked at the door,calling out my husband's name.He made as if he was in distress,and so my man offered to help.He went ion to open the door,and that's how they killed him"the 20-year old widow said adding that they suspected  that  husband of robbery.

"I knew him very well.He was  very hardworking.He everyday woke up early to crash stones.That was how he started out.Later he set up a grocery before setting up shop successfully as a shopkeeper dealing in electronics",she said

Damaris story replicates itself in Gusii region,with several  households losing their loved ones in mysterious circumstances.While people here loathe Sungusungu,no one dares to challenge their operations.

Further out in the outskirts of Kisii town,we meet  Johnson* at Suneka township.He shows us deserted buildings  in what remains a constant reminder of  the 2003  crackdown by Sungusungu operatives on witchcraft suspects.In the operation,Johnson says,several people were killed with scores fleeing the area  never to return.

The people who fled this area have since come to be called "Sungusungu fugitives".Their property remains unused as forests cover the land and buildings cave in.

Years on,this group continues to visit terror and destruction of families of innocent people --all in the name of security.And the question is:for how long is this going to last?For the residents ,the government is the only savior near at hand.