Meet the Night Runners (BBC documentary; 2019)
There is an East African tale amongst the Luo people of spirits who wonder at night to disturb households. These 'night runners' throw sand and stones on their roofs, make rattling sounds on their zinc roofs and make eerie sounds in the deadpan of the night.
The BBC African crew did an exposé recently of this phenomenon.
These 'night runners' are just people who like to create mischief and get a thrill out of scaring the hell of their victims. They do not steal peoples' properties but sometimes get caught and get beaten up for it. Because it is humiliating to be labelled a 'night runners' at the risk of being chased out of the village, they end up in debts trying to pay off their captors.
The 'night runners' allege it is a first within their families as they had seen their fathers, mothers and grandparents do the same. At one point, it looks more like an addiction that is difficult to break. After being exposed or injured, they insist on quitting only to return their old ways in no time.
Using night vision cameras and interviewing runners as well as their victims, the documentary brings its viewers into the dark and secret world of 'night runners'. Using drones to film to the landscape of Toma Bay, in Western Kenya, the capital of 'night runners', the crew managed to give us a close-up view of remote East African picturesque landscape as well as the view of Lake Victoria.
Unfortunately, there are allegations that the runners who appeared in the recordings were paid actors. A middle-aged self-confessed runner came forth later to say that she was invited to play the part. Others insist that 'night runners' are supposed to run naked unlike the ones seen in the secret filming footages where there were dressed in white men's clothes and there appeared new, suggesting further that it was staged.
The crew is trying to tell that the 'night runners' are just pranksters who are addicted to creating mischiefs while the people insist it delves into mysticism and the dark secrets of the African past.
There is an East African tale amongst the Luo people of spirits who wonder at night to disturb households. These 'night runners' throw sand and stones on their roofs, make rattling sounds on their zinc roofs and make eerie sounds in the deadpan of the night.
The BBC African crew did an exposé recently of this phenomenon.
These 'night runners' are just people who like to create mischief and get a thrill out of scaring the hell of their victims. They do not steal peoples' properties but sometimes get caught and get beaten up for it. Because it is humiliating to be labelled a 'night runners' at the risk of being chased out of the village, they end up in debts trying to pay off their captors.
The 'night runners' allege it is a first within their families as they had seen their fathers, mothers and grandparents do the same. At one point, it looks more like an addiction that is difficult to break. After being exposed or injured, they insist on quitting only to return their old ways in no time.
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| Toma Bay, Western Kenya. Lake Victoria in the background. |
Using night vision cameras and interviewing runners as well as their victims, the documentary brings its viewers into the dark and secret world of 'night runners'. Using drones to film to the landscape of Toma Bay, in Western Kenya, the capital of 'night runners', the crew managed to give us a close-up view of remote East African picturesque landscape as well as the view of Lake Victoria.
Unfortunately, there are allegations that the runners who appeared in the recordings were paid actors. A middle-aged self-confessed runner came forth later to say that she was invited to play the part. Others insist that 'night runners' are supposed to run naked unlike the ones seen in the secret filming footages where there were dressed in white men's clothes and there appeared new, suggesting further that it was staged.
The crew is trying to tell that the 'night runners' are just pranksters who are addicted to creating mischiefs while the people insist it delves into mysticism and the dark secrets of the African past.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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