Two cousins were publicly shamed and forced to undergo a ritual cleansing after they were caught having sex in Kumi Sub-County, Kenya. The incident occurred on March 4 when one of the clan enforcers caught Sam Odaka, 47, and Joyce Aaca, 44, in the act at 2 am. The Inomu Ikomion clan conducted the bizarre ritual, which included the two cousins receiving strokes of lashes and offering a goat as fine.
During the cleansing session, the community leaders held a feast to wash away the shame of seeing the nakedness of the “sinners.” The two were then forced into a grass kiln where a fire was lit, and they were allowed to escape. According to John Charles Omongole, the clan’s chairperson, the grass kiln is used to cleanse people who commit incest. The offenders are expected to run in different directions when the fire engulfs the entire kiln. The clan soldiers then follow them up with a couple of lashes.
After the ritual, the two were forced to sign an agreement that they would not repeat the act. Omongole said that they did not want children born out of incest.
