Relatives turn to theatrics of professional mourners to feign hero’s send-off

They blow whistles, wail and sob. Women, overcome with 'grief' sing dirges and crawl and roll on the ground as they curse the evil spirit that has snatched their loved one. Young men, sitting dangerously on overloaded motor-cycles, make several trips around the mortuary, shouting and honking.

Their sorrow is so genuine, you would not help but feel sorry for them and their 'loss'. But be not deceived, these are men and women at work. They are professional mourners hired at a fee between Sh200 and Sh500 each to help give the departed soul a hero's send-off.

This is what used to characterise the atmosphere outside the Kisumu County Hospital mortuary before a ban on mourning within the morgue premises was imposed. Before the county government banned crowding and loud mourning around the mortuary, Thursdays and Fridays were days of high drama. The hired mourners would put up a show to please their paymasters that in turn would help market their services.

Professional mourning is increasingly gaining fame in Luo Nyanza where the status of a dead man is measured by the number of mourners who turned up to escort his casket from the mortuary. It is a common thing to see brokers and owners of mourning groups loitering around the mortuary looking for business.

"The charges vary with the demands by the client. The cheapest is Sh500 paid for a one-hour intense mourning and taking the cortege around the town," says a boda boda rider and professional mourner who requested anonymity.

He added: "We charge according to the job at hand. Mourning and performing theatrics like rolling on the ground, and blowing vuvuzelas will cost more; between Sh500 and Sh1,000."

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He said some families demand the mourners to feign fainting, which will cost close to Sh2,000. "The best way to know hired mourners is to look at their eyes. They mourn without shedding tears," said a shoe shiner in the town.

Despite the ban by the county government, professional mourners of Kisumu still break the rules to earn a living by starting their theatrics once out of the Central Business District.