Some Siaya chiefs authorise outlawed disco matangas, have sex during the burial parties and even sire children during the mourning period.
Siaya county commissioner Michael Ole Tialal on Monday accused wayward chiefs of attending disco matangas and engaging in outdated burial rights.
He said some chiefs deliberately sire children during the mourning period, the children to be named after the departed person.
“We have intelligence that some chiefs attend such matangas and engage in siring kids later named after the deceased," Tialal said. He called it an outdated cultural practice.
The commissioner was addressing chiefs and their assistants as well as top security officers in Siaya town during a security meeting.
It was attended by chiefs from Alego/Usonga, Bondo and Rarieda subcounties.
Tialal said some administrators issue permits for disco matanga, the wild burial parties that were banned in 2017.
He claimed disco matangas have increased crime, drunkenness, caused fatalities, spread HIV and caused teen pregnancies.
The commissioner said these chiefs are likely to contract and spread HIV, hampering their service to the public.
Tialal cited Siaya township location where the chief recently issued a matanga permit. Security officers stormed the venue and made several arrests.
The commissioner told administrators to only issue permits to raise funds during the day of a burial ceremony, and not to disguise the event to engage in the vice at night.
Siaya County National Intelligence Service boss Joseph Chesabo told chiefs to be proactive and nip crime in the bud.
Chesabo said chiefs must help create networks and workin tandem with security agencies.
He told them not to be afraid of NIS officers when volunteering information for fear of being victimised. Confidentiality will be guaranteed, he said. The NIS is being reformed and is more professional, Chesabo said.
The chiefs accused the police of frustrating their efforts to prevent crime by dragging their feet and not responding swiftly to urgent issues whenever they are called.
They claimed that reported crimes, especially murder, take a very long time to conclude or disappear mysteriously with the DCI wing.
(Edited by V, Graham)
