Why CBC is dividing Council of Elders and the church on circumcision

The initiation of boys into adulthood this coming holiday has continued to generate debate, with the Kikuyu Council of Elders insisting that the exercise will not be conducted.

Instead, the council under the ‘Kiama Kia Maa’, has said that the rite has been postponed to next year when students will be transitioning from Junior to Senior Secondary School.

For years, the community has circumcised boys before joining secondary schools but the process changed following the introduction of the Competency Based Curriculum (CBC).

Speaking in Naivasha after a meeting for the top leaders from the community, the elders challenged the church which is also involved in the initiation ceremony, to also change their dates.

According to the national chairman Ndung’u Wa Gaithuma the elders from across the country had met and agreed on the issue with the interests of the boy-child at heart.

He said that it would not make sense to take the boys through the rites and return them to primary school, where the Junior Secondary Schools are domiciled.

Addressing the press, Gaithuma accused some leaders of taking advantage of the annual rites to seek financial support from county governments for their personal gain.

He was however quick to note that the council would not force any boys to forego this year’s initiation ceremony, adding that this had been left to the families to decide.

The Council Director of Culture Kigochi Wa Waimeri noted that the new learning system had forced the community to change the initiation dates.

Flanked by the elders, Kigochi said that the real meaning of circumcision in the community meant transitioning from boyhood to manhood.

On his part, an elder Joseph Thiong’o said that they supported the new curriculum which had seen the boys get an extra year in primary schools.

 He said the council has deliberated on the initiation issue for a long time and has agreed that they allow the boys one more year in primary school before been circumcised next year.