Kaya elders in Kwale have attributed the calamities hitting the county to gods angry over destruction of scared forests.
The region has more than 30 gazetted Kaya forests but the majority are on the verge of extinction as private developers claim ownership.
The Kaya elders said the ongoing drought is because the gods are furious and have decided to hold back the rains as punishment.
Kwale is among the counties that have been severely hit by drought with over 200,000 people affected and more than 1,000 livestock dead.
Samburu, Kinango and Lunga Lunga areas of the county are the hardest hit.
The elders led by Ali Masudi Mwachangu said land grabbing has caused massive destruction to the Kaya shrines frustrating the ancestral spirits who retaliate by bringing doom.
"We used to get enough rain in this part of the coastal strip but things have changed because of the grave damage to our Kaya shrines," he said.
Mwachangu said a good example is Tiwi, which used to receive rains even when other areas had none, but because of encroachment and destruction to the Kaya Tiwi forest, the area's fertility is no more.
He said elders can no longer conduct proper rituals to appease their ancestors and are now sending unknown diseases as a way of conveying a message that they are dissatisfied.
"Long ago, people used to access the Kayas for special prayers, seek divine powers to fight calamities and gain strength over evil but nowadays we can't do that, tycoons have invaded our ancestral forest lands," he said.
The Kaya elders said cutting down the ancient trees and damaging the tombs make the spirits of their ancestors restless and this is a threat to human well-being.
They said the ancestors had captured great evil and hid them deep in the forests to keep humans safe but the continuous land encroachment by some of the private developers will set the spirits free and the results would be catastrophic.
Mwachangu said the destruction of Kaya trees has led to the disappearance of some animal species.
He said great cultural heritage is going extinct and the upcoming generations will have no knowledge of the past history.
The Kaya forests have trees that are believed to be over 200 years old, wells that were sunk before Christ and tombs of the great world rulers and healers.
Mwachangu said if all that knowledge is swept away then the entire world is lost.
Salim Hemed Mwawembe said a cure to the many unexplained diseases is found within the great Kaya forests but the destruction will cost human lives.
He said it will be a double tragedy as global warming wreaks havoc due to deforestation and gods releasing their wrath for tampering with the sacred places.
The kaya elders now want the government to protect the forests jealously and preserve them for the future generation.
"The government should make sure the kayas and its people get justice and are rescued from the hands of land grabbers," he said.
Hamisi Juma Mwajao said land grabbing is a vice that needs to be uprooted in the region.
They vowed to protect the Kaya lands if no appropriate actions is taken.
Recently, Tourism PS Safina Kwekwe said the government was in the process of identifying the grabbed kaya forests lands to conserve them for tourism activities.
"We want to diversify our tourism, and we are eyeing the kayas which have a lot of valuable content that can attract tourists if well preserved," she said.
-Edited by SKanyara
