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Mourners for hire shock Kisii residents

Mourners for hire
 Mourners for hire PHOTO: COURTESY

Kenya: It is a norm in many African societies to mourn the death of a loved one, but the trend is changing after the emergence of paid mourners in Kisii County. The rare incidence has shocked residents after revelation from mourners who admitted to having been hired for such bizarre jobs.

According to Alice Nyambane, a resident from Nyaribare Chache, poverty and lack of ‘enough’ relatives to escort the body from the morgue are the core reasons as to why residents are involved in the habit.

“Some of the deceased are unknown and have no relatives, so we come in handy” she noted.

This trend is slowly replacing the Gusii culture of mourning the deceased. The wave is sweeping through Kisii County commercialising the trend.

The most exploited are boda boda operators who never let any opportunity to get an extra cent pass them by. According to Mr. Eric Morara, a boda boda operator, the money paid ranges from Sh100 to Sh300 depending on the financial capacity of the bereaved family.

Their task involves escorting the corpse from the morgue to their homestead. Women hired for the ritual are required to mourn until the burial is over.

This trend has encouraged the birth of fake mourners who shed crocodile tears instead of mourning the deceased genuinely. It is more shocking that some residents are now forming groups whose core responsibility is to cater for the ever increasing demand of mourners.  

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