ABSTRACT
‘Mvula’ occult is a secret occult among the Chonyi sub-tribe of the Mijikenda language group of Kilifi County. Members operate in sets of five with powers said to control rain by use of unholy formulae whose ‘unholy communion’ involves eating human flesh serially sacrificed by its members, for potency in their endeavours. These people are feared and shunned in equal measures by the community and are believed to cause mysterious death to anybody who dares challenge their authority. The research was intended to investigate the school adjustment of their 5-7 year olds which is an at risk group because of the atrocities their parents allegedly do in the community. The study was pegged on Urie Bronfenbrenners’ Ecological Contextual Theory of 1979 which contends to child’s personality shaped by the environment through interrelated systems referred as Micro, Messo, Exo, Macro and Chrono systems. The research targeted was children whose parents were members of the Mvula occult practices from a population of 2500 aged between 5 and 7 years in Chonyi Division of Kilifi South Sub County in Kilifi County. The Independent Variable was Parental involvement in Mvula Occult Practices and the dependent variables were Social problems, Emotional problems and learning problems affecting the children influencing the child’s school adjustment. The research adopted a mixed Research Methodology that involved collecting and analysing data using both qualitative and quantitative methods. Data was collected from school heads, lower primary and pre-school teachers and learners aged 5-7 years olds spread between preschool and class three. The data was gathered using questionnaires, interviews and observations and was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 21). The findings of this research indicated that 70% of the children whose parents are involved in the ‘Mvula’ occult practices have school adjustment problems and fail to meaningfully gain from school experiences hence need for
interventions. This study recommends streamlining of the school/learning environment by initiating strategic programs for teachers in handling the learner as addressing learner attitude to school, social interactions as in art and music and Christian Spiritual approaches to address the spiritual aspects of emotional regulation. The researcher recommends research on post school life of the children whose parents are members of the ‘mvula ’occult as a strategy in looking for viable solutions as another strategy that could be used.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
Introduction
This chapter highlights background information of the study, the statement of the problem, the purpose of the study, the research objectives, research questions, the significance of the study, the delimitation and limitations, the assumptions, the theoretical and the conceptual framework and the operational definition of terms.
Background of the Study
This study was prompted by education days when mass failure of KCPE candidates in Chonyi was attributed to gross behaviour problems in the zone. The Curriculum Support Officer, Mr David Charo underlined that ‘Mvula’ should not be the scape goat for poor results or behaviour problems in the school. Education Standards and Quality Assurance Officer in his speech of March 15th on this education day registered his disappointment with the school sponsors, who were various Christian denominations of abdicating their roles of spiritual guidance by letting ‘mvula’ occult control the spiritual aspect of the children culminating to delinquency and poor results. No previous research on the phenomenon was done thus alien and prompted the researcher to do this study.
The high number of delinquent and school drop outs in Chonyi as per the CSO data and Police records indicating 67.84% of all cases in chonyi Police Post and Kijipwa Police station and adolescent mental cases dotting the shopping centres,
out of school and school dropout, cases, sexual molestation of children in the police station and chiefs cases, substance and drug abuse, and young people dotting shopping centres who have visible mental challenges in Chonyi division attributed to parental involvement in the ‘mvula’ occult was given as consequence and aftermath on offspring’s of members is a branch of occultism. It is a secret organization that involves sacrifices of humans to the devil for power to control others and resources. Though the members’ activities are covert they are well known to the community. There are nearly a thousand children of ages 10 -15 not in school, involved in crime. Efforts by law enforcing agents to rehabilitate them proved fruitless as per zonal education report (2012). Could the children be experiencing some difficulties in school due to the activities of the people in ‘mvula’ occult or are they children of parents involved in ‘mvula’ occult practices? A possibility of parents being shunned by society for being members of ‘mvula’ occult could have a trickling effect on the social interactions of their children in and out of school could and lack of research in this field prompted the researcher to undertake this research.
Children in oppressed lifestyles are likely to degenerate to mental challenges. A high population of teenagers in every market place in Chonyi Division attests to a serious problem. Medical records place mental cases to 100 and warn that cases could be higher due to high number of unreported cases and relatives blaming mvula occultist. Retaliations is usually murdering suspected perpetrators. Maduguda, (2016), pegs the high number due to victims being teased, isolated,
not freely interact with peers, experience loneliness and sadness that eventually culminate into negative feelings, low self-esteem and self-consciousness to occultist activities in certain areas. Lack of acceptance, support and recognition by the societies which are prerequisite conditions for the development of high self-esteem, could be recipes for normal children to degenerate due to mental torture (Dally & Watkins, 1987, Reynolds, Wang and Walberg, 2008), this is reflective of children of parents involved in ‘mvula’ occult. Awolugutu (2016), has insights into effect of students joining occult in the West African state of Ghana. He reveals of teenage students recruitment into occult, where teachers and other students recruit unsuspecting members and the impact on the culprits academic performances. He says we must help curb youth involvement in the occult as the occult is not foolproof and can fail the practitioner. The inability to harness the supernatural powers to solve problems can result in frustration.
The negative effect on students’ academic performance of some students can be attributed to their increasing involvement in the occult as they spend valuable time not on their studies but on the occult which results in abysmal performance. The occult encourages quick fix solutions to trivial issues. He adds that young ones need to have a strong foundation in our cherished values and virtues to grow up as responsible citizens capable of making a meaningful contribution to nation building (County Commissioners’ Madaraka Day Speech of 1st June, 2014). They need to imbibe such values as integrity, honesty, hard work, patience, commitment, diligence, tenacity of purpose, knowledge, wisdom, stamina,
courage, taking risks, and optimism which cannot happen if the victim joined the occult. The speech provoked the researcher to do an enquiry into parental involvement in ‘mvula’ occult and subsequent social, emotional and learning difficulties experienced by early learners.
