By Boniface Gikandi

A councillor’s widow and her children chased away a mourner when his eulogy veered dangerously off the mark.

Trouble started when the elderly man   who   had been slotted in to talk on behalf of the deceased’s Nairobi friends stood up and started saying unsavoury things about the deceased.

The man who introduced himself to the mourners as “a dear friend of the late and who feels greatly grieved    by   his   death” started   off    by portraying the deceased as a man who never turned down an expensive meal offer.

“This is a man who loved good food, which I used to buy for him at an Indian hotel   in Nairobi,” he  began.
   “A few days before he met his death, he had visited me in Nairobi and I took him to a favourite hotel where I bought him food and tea,” he added.

Best suit

Unmoved by the furtive glances that came from his audience, the man went on: “After we were through with the food, I took him to a shop and asked him to chose the best suit available.”

At this juncture, family members were seen exchanging furious glances and pointing at the podium. At one point, the widow  was even seen signaling someone to mute the loudspeaker.

Hostility

Those present   at   the   high   table who included serving  Members of Parliament, clergy, councillors and business people appeared shocked at the turn of events. But the mourner went on with his address,
oblivious of the hostility he had generated.

“The suit I bought is the one my dear friend is wearing now as he lies dead. I was a true friend. I have clothed him even in death…” the man went on.

Unable to bear it any longer, the widow, accompanied by her  son, moved  to   the  dais  and  violently  wrenched  the  microphone from him.

“I cannot listen to such uncultured talk! This is shameful. Here we are, trying to bear our loss and you choose to insult his memory?” the widow thundered.
Relatives quickly ushered the man to the safety of the backseats   where  he sat  down looking confused at the turn of events.
Other mourners were heard protesting at the public dress-down of the deceased with some directing furious words at the man.

“How    do    you   shame your friend like that in death? If you bought him food and suits when he was alive, why   come    to announce   at  his funeral? This is so gross!” an elderly mourner was heard
shouting contemptuously.

Afterwards, the burial ceremony proceeded, but only after the widow had
emphatically warned other speakers to stick to what “is relevant and in good taste”.

She said: “Even in death,?he remains my husband. We have gone through a lot of psychological pain to come to terms with our loss and the last thing we, as a family, will entertain are words that are tailored to demean him.”