that has been a long practice Oftraditional laws in Kenya, where the ultimate goal
from any crime, wrong-doing, and evil is to allow the offender deliverance from
their deeds.
In reviewing criminal offenses of pre-colonial Kenya, purification was often
referred as part of the legal process. For example, one of the key findings of this
research is that African traditional systems of law and order provided a place for
healing for offenses that cause death, understanding the importance for the two
clans impacted to move passed the tragedy.106 In these cases, purification
played an important role in the process of restoring order to the society. The
purification ceremony was a rite invoking God to cleanse and neutralize
negativity that resulted in the offense. The goat and the bull were sacrificed and
used for the purification practices. Afterwards the bull was eaten by the clan and
utui elders who were the legal administers of pre-colonial judicial matters. During
the Mau Mau war, as shown in this chapter, the colonial government also
engaged in purification ceremonies as a legal activity designed to allow ex-Mau
Mau oathers an opportunity to rehabilitate themselves from the oath and related
activities. From a legal perspective, purification has been a powerful practice in
Kenya to sustain societal order.
Purification as a social, economic, and legal practice shows the
complexity, the importance, and its sustained continuity in Kenya. Like oathing, it
is a ceremony that has adapted over time to serve those that seek it. In
understanding the dynamics of purification socially, economically, and legally, it
106 Penwill, Notes on Customary Law, August, 1950. Film 2804 Roll 9, 82.
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