Everyone said they were the victims of sorcery and could never be cured.
And so Richard (not his real name), now age 40, was locked in a little room in a Bomet village for 17 years and food thrown to him. No one wanted to get close because he was violent.
And in Narok county, Rebecca (not her real name), 45, was shackled hand and foot to a tree. She, too, was violent and had destroyed the tiny mud hut where she had been kept. She was isolated for 23 years.
Both suffered years of degrading treatment neglect and abuse, their conditions worsened by stigma and mistreatment by their own frustrated families.
Today they appear to have recovered thanks to caring, medical treatment and prayer.
Their cases demonstrate that many people suffering from mental illness can be treated and get better.
Mental illness and problems are caused by genetic factors, chemical imbalance in the brain, environmental factors such as pollution by lead and other elements – as well as trauma and abuse.
Many people don’t believe that – they think abnormal behaviour must be the result of witchcraft or sorcery – and they don’t think people can be cured. Their families are considered cursed and shamed.
So Richard, Rebecca and many others like them are hidden away by their families who fear community violence against them.
But today they have new lives through medicine and compassion.
Richard had been living in a village in Bomet Central. He was locked in a small wooden room with only a small window. His family threw food to him through the opening as though he were an animal.
His father said they decided to lock him up in the house because he was extremely violent and his family thought he could kill someone.
“For all those years he has been inside the house because there was nothing else we could do since he was dangerous to us and would hurt anyone he encountered if he escaped,” he said.
When Richard’s plight was highlighted, the county referred him to Nakuru provincial hospital where he underwent electroconvulsive therapy while under anaesthesia.
ICT is a recognised treatment for patients who are seriously depressed, bipolar or schizophrenic and have not responded to medication.
The treatment greatly improved his condition and reorganised his thinking. He is recuperating at home.
When Bomet Governor Hillary Barchok visited him at his home – with media present – Richard was wearing a suit and tie, was calm and smiling shyly. He is getting used to be treated with compassion.
Rebecca’s case is similar.
When the Star visited her home in Transmara, the mud-walled hut where she had been kept prisoner was in ruins. She had battered and destroyed it from within.
Her family says only prayer helped her to recover.
Bishop Davis Kiplangat of Kings Outreach Church in Bomet said Rebecca’s case is a testament to the power of prayer and faith to heal troubled souls.
He said for many years the family had moved from one hospital to another and sought the help of traditional healers, even sorcerers to cure their daughter.
“When Prophet Owuor was holding a streamed prayer session, her family took her to the trading centre where congregants had gathered to watch … through her faith she was healed and is now okay,” he said.