Come for Pokot blessings after Christmas, elders tell Gideon

"Come to us soon after Christmas we will shower you with blessings for success."

That's what Baringo Senator Gideon Moi was told on Monday by a section of Pokot elders from Tiaty subcounty.

“It is high time Gideon should come so we can bless him like his father Daniel Moi as he faces the hard task ahead," Mzee Michael Kolem said.

"Our good 'saliva' is always 100 per cent guaranteed. We are waiting for him."

The elders said they still support Kanu out of respect for Gideon's father, the second president, Daniel Moi.

“Mzee Moi showed a lot of humanity during his tenure, including preaching love, peace and unity. We know he still lives amongst us through his son, Gideon,” Kolem said. 

They said it has been more than one year since they asked Gideon to come for their blessing, suggesting he might have forgotten. "This is just a reminder,” Kolem said.

He said they reached out to Gideon when he landed with Devolution CS Eugene Wamalwa and MP William Kamket to distribute relief food at Ng’inyang in July last year.

The elders said they support the Building Bridges Initiative, so they should be part of the campaign team to bless the leaders.

“Gideon should lead the way to come for his anointment as other leaders supporting BBI follow,” Kolem said.

Pokot elders emphasised that they blessed his father, Daniel Moi, before he rose to power.

The traditional blessing ceremonies were held secretly under a huge Aroon tree at Ng’inyang in Tiaty subcounty in 1958 before Moi joined the Rift Valley Legislative Council, and in 1978 before he became president.

“He was instructed by the elders to spend the night in a temporary structure before a big ceremony the next day when a white bull was slaughtered," Kolem said.

Gideon has indicated he wants to run for president in 2022.

Kamket said the ceremony is effective and elders urged him to visit soon after Christmas.

The elders declined to describe the ceremony but said it should be carried out at any time before the general election.

He was backed elders David Arupe, Duka Lopelo, Yuda Losutan, James Cox, Gideon Asil, Canon Christopher Chochoi and the Rev John Lopeta, among others.

“The little hint we can give about the ceremony is that this time it will be carried out during the day for everyone to see," Losutan said.

The elders urged Gideon to be open, generous, accessible and to interact with village people, as his father did.

“He is a leader who will sooner or later become president so he must learn to live and share his wealth openly with the people," Losutan said.

He said they expect him to start proving his generosity by sharing with the needy during the Christmas season.

"Even we Pokot elders will be happy if he gives us some soup for Christmas celebrations,” one elder said.

They are the same elders who crowned MP Kamket as council spokesman in a ceremony at remote Katangura village in Tangilbei-Korossi ward in October last year.

The constituency is a solid Kanu zone in which all Kanu candidates were elected.

(Edited by V. Graham)