The Story of Basawa Misiko

After the Bukusu Resistance in 1895, those arrested were taken to Elureko, later known as Mumias, and assigned luggage to carry all the way to Kaboto (around the Kenya-Uganda border in Endebess sub-county). Kaboto is a Bukusu pronunciation of a supposedly Kalenjin name Kapoto.

According to the late John Wanyonyi Manguliechi, Babukusu were made to carry chikhuli, chinindi and bufu (flour) as punishment for their rebellious behaviour.

On the first day, they trekked from Elureko and by the time the sun was setting, they were in Kabula in Chief Namachanja's region. They stopped here and rested till the next morning. They heard hyenas laugh, tietie (cristocolas cristicola) spoke to them, the sparrow also spoke in the dark of the night, kamacharia also spoke. Their night was filled with different sounds from the jungle.

They resumed their journey the next morning. When evening came, they had trekked all the way to Nalondo and were at the Lukoba of Muse (the fort of Muse). Here, they were amazed by the beauty of a girl called Nandayi from the clan of Bamuki Cholinjo maleke. She was good to them because she attended to them very well--fed them and gave them a place to sleep. Hyena (namunyu) laughed, leopards growled, hissed and chuffed, buffaloes grunted, and the night was full of sounds from the jungle.

Different sounds woke them up in the morning. Guinea fowls chirped and yelped, cristocolas cristicola spoke and chikhuchuru sounded loudly in the morning. They reminded them that it was morning; a time to start their trek again.

After a whole day's walk with their luggage, they came to Maeni in Kimilili. Here, they rested in the fort of Sirengo the son of Mwone from the Batukwika Bakwangwa clan. While asleep, hyenas whooped, buffaloes grunted and spoke to them, leopards chuffed, kibeu also spoke to them that night.

When morning came, Guinea fowls cackled, cristocolas cristicola chirped, cholee and chikhuchuru all spoke to them at dawn. Bukusu gallant soldiers embarked on their walk and came to Maliki where they rested till the next morning. They heard the usual sounds from the jungle since the surrounding was bushy and sparsely populated.

They took the Babton route through Lukhome and Saboti towards Endebess. They slept in a cave where wild animals rested (Lie esang'i). Here, they heard the same sounds from the jungle as they had heard every night. The next day, they rested in Mubere, then went to Mundebe (Endebess) and later Emukhuwa. Finally, they came to Kaboto. According to Musician Simiyu Makhanu, Kaboto was the border of Bukusu and Karamojong'.

A story is told of a man called Mualakha from the clan of Bamwoyayo. He became very thirsty as a result of the long walk from Elureko. His friends looked for water to save him but found not even a drop. They resorted to urinating in his mouth, and that did the trick, at least for some time. Mualakha is said to have died later when the voyagers arrived in Sichei.

When they safely set foot in Bungoma, it was 1896; when the community was preparing to circumcise the fifth omusawa. So, they decided to name the age set Basawa Misiko. Misiko in Lubukusu means luggage. This was in remembrance of the toil and torture their brothers had undergone as they carried luggage to Kaboto.

This was the origin of the name Misiko among the Babukusu and their brothers, Banyala of Navakholo and Tachoni.

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