The Abolition of Teeth Removal Among The Luo

I can vividly remember, at most two and a half years ago when the great athlete Usain Bolt came to Kenya. He was there for a six week's stay. Even though I lived in an urban centre, there were still some ethnic groups in the rural Kisumu, better known as 'Nyalenda' which still embraced their culture. By so doing, they practised removal of teeth amongst some old people, even the youths. At times, the exercise would be so painful and dangerous that some people had to be rushed to hospital due to sever bleeding. This had to stop when the athlete was starting up a children's home in the area and learnt of the activity. This was very sorrowful because the victims looked very ugly without teeth.
Almost everybody was flooded at the venue and this was an ideal chance for Bolt to discuss the matter. Since the athlete was very prominent and respected across borders, the people had to comply when they were aware of the disadvantages of the practice. Instead, they were advised to practice circumcision among the men instead of teeth removal.

Location: Milimani, KISUMU West, Kenya