• They claim the church has taken over the role of presiding over the rite of passage
A row is brewing between clerics and cultural elders in Mt Kenya over the circumcision of young boys.
Kikuyu elders, popularly known as Kiama Kia Ma, claim the church has taken over the role of presiding over the rite of passage that has always been the cultural preserve of elders.
Ng'ang'a wa Kiarie, the Thika subcounty Kiama kia ma chairman, said clerics have trespassed into the traditional and cultural realm that has nothing to do with the Bible or church teachings.
The elders would rather the clerics stuck to the pulpit and offered spiritual guidance.
Kiarie spoke out at Thika at a ceremony in which 500 boys graduated from childhood.
"Pastors should desist from performing cultural rituals and concentrate on spiritual matters, " he said.
"Circumcision has been a strict cultural issue over the years that is fully understood by elders."
Njuguna Musembi, another elder, said circumcision is a sacred stage in a boy's life and is a compulsory rite of passage.
"These rites demand meticulous and detailed observation that can only be under the watch of elders," he said.
"The church should stop being greedy for money and focus on spiritual matters."
Kiambu Deputy Speaker John Njiru called on the police to probe cases where elders mislead boys into sexual acts, drug abuse and alcoholism after the male cut.
Weeks ago, a commercial sex worker in Thika was reported to have revealed that some recently circumcised boys had been encouraged to engage their services by the elders.
"We have good elders who have stuck to the good cultural practices of advising the teenage initiates to desist from alcohol, drugs and other indiscipline," said Njiru, who is also the Hospital Ward MCA.
"We also have very dangerous ones and they will soon face the law."