For Winnie Mandela, identical twin sister to the late Star journalist Corazon Wafula, death separated them but tradition separated them even further.
Her twin sister was buried after 18 days of mourning but she could not set her eyes on her body or else death strikes again.
Family and friends attest that the two sisters were not only inseparable but one could not notice the difference as they had a striking resemblance and never said who was born first.
Winnie was forced to mourn her sister virtually as she stayed kilometres from home thanks to a long-held Luhya tradition.
Her emotional tribute through the phone was projected to a loudspeaker.
It is believed among the Banyala subtribe of the Luhya community any failure to observe the strict traditions carries with it an instant death sentence.
As per the Banyala culture being identical twins is just nice if both are alive.
Normally seclusion between the two occurs when one of them dies.
“When one twin dies the other one can easily follow and to save her life it’s not a bargaining tool but mandatory for the culture to be followed,” Mzee Meshack Chetambe an elder said.
He said immediately one of the twins is declared dead, elderly men from her clan, church members and some village elders are unleashed to take the other twin hostage.
The other twin will be taken to an undisclosed place where she is under close watch.
She is restricted from viewing the body, from staying at the house where the late twin was, crying too much after the death of her sister among others.
“We confine her and she must follow our directives if she becomes rude and stubborn, we may even beat her up,” he said.
“It’s the responsibility of us elders to save her life.”
The Banyala believes that the remaining twin sister will die immediately she ignored the said culture.
“She dies almost immediately or utmost after three weeks, she cannot in any way attend her sister's burial or procession for her sake, her mother must make sure she just does not ignore the said culture,” Chetambe said.
Speaking at Corazon’s funeral, Alice Namalwa concurred with him.
She said the dead twin is alive through the remaining twin hence the need to worry the family.
“They shared their mother’s placenta and that means they share every bit of any consciousness and she will die after her sister dies if she ignores the culture,” Namalwa said.
“To help her out like for our own Winnie, she must stay and only comes when everything is ready.”
She explained that the grave will be flattened and covered with a blanket of leaves to hide it from the girl.
Namalwa said she must not see the grave when she finally returns home and goes straight to the house with the caretakers.
It is believed that parents who ignore the taboos and death strike the remaining twin is responsible for the occurrence.
“If civilised parents ignore the laid down taboos, they should know that there are painful consequences and will live to regret their decision,” Namalwa said.
She said that the person can be cleansed later but unfortunate he or she will carry the blame for the death.
“The parents to the remaining twin must do what they feel is best to uphold the culture, even if they are Christians, the dead twin can easily call her live twin to the grave. This culture is done to completely disconnect their ties,” Namalwa said.
Another resident Paul Kamukuyo called on his tribesmen to ignore retrogressive culture.
“No one can take culture away from us but at the same time let us uphold some cultures that need to be implemented, like this one of identical twins it is a must we follow it,” he said.
“Ten years ago a young girl died a week after her twin sister died, she ignored the laid down culture.”
Cora, as she was fondly referred to by close friends, was laid to rest on Saturday at her family home in Turbo, Eldoret.
She died aged 32 and has left behind one child.
Family, friends, church and colleagues described her as a team player, God-fearing and dedicated staff who would go out of her way to deliver compelling stories.
Francis Mureithi, the Star News Editor, said Corazon was easy to work with and a go-getter who carried her assignments diligently.
“We have lost one of our best journalists who was able to adapt to the emerging trends in the industry,” Mureithi said.
Her mother, Celine Khayesi, described her as a glue who contributed to the unity of the family and a faithful believer.
Edited by Kiilu Damaris
