Kenyans on the cross as they celebrate Easter

By MANGOA MOSOTA

Millions of Christians across the world marked the death and resurrection of Jesus during Easter.

Locally, the season is usually marked with fanfare as Christians and non-Christians alike go on spending sprees and engage in merrymaking.

But this year’s Easter celebrations will be without the pomp and pageantry associated with it, thanks to the rise in the cost of living.

Sammy Owiti, who sells second hand clothes dealer in Kisumu, usually records high sales during this season but this year has been different.

"In the past, I usually got many customers during the Easter season. But this is not happening this year," says Owiti, 23.

Fares have also gone up by an unprecedented amount, making most families to opt to spend the holiday in the city.

Rural home

Emily Kazira, a mother of two, says she often marks the festivities at her rural home in Mbale, Vihiga County but this year is different.

"During Easter, I spend about Sh2,000 for food at my rural home. But this year, I am not travelling home. There is no money even for fare," says Kazira, 33, who, works for a cleaning firm in the lakeside town.

Esther Akinyi, 28, got a rude shock recently when her husband told her that not everybody in the family will be travelling to their rural homes in Awendo for the Easter celebrations.

"My husband informed me that he will be travelling home on Saturday with our first-born child. This is unlike in the past when all of us travelled home," says Akinyi, who is a salesperson in Kakamega.

Akinyi says it has been a tradition for them to buy food and other goodies for their parents and relatives during the Easter season, but they will not do so this year as prices of most food items have shot through the roof.

Richard Mutua, who works with a bus company in Eldoret, says although their vehicles have been fully booked in the last three days, most passengers were arriving with light luggage.

"It has been a trend for passengers from Nairobi to this town to arrive during Easter with full shopping bags, but only a few are doing so this year," says Mr Mutua.

For Emma Achieng, the sharp rise in prices of most items means that she will restrict her shopping to essential commodities.

Achieng, a single mother, says last year she spent about Sh5,000 shopping for her family during Easter, but this year she has spent less.

"I am using about Sh3,000 for necessities such as cooking fat, sugar, rice and milk. I often give my children about Sh1,000 to go out during this occasion, but this year I will not be able to do it," says Achieng.

Although Achieng, who works for a multinational company in Nairobi, earns a good salary, the 47-year-old mother of three argues that the high cost of living has made her review the family expenditure.

About 45 per cent of the country’s 39.8 million people live below the poverty line. This means that almost half of the country’s households can barely afford the cheapest 2kg packet of maize meal, which goes for Sh80. The same was retailing at Sh55 last month.

Although food prices have been rising for the last one year, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) raised the prices of various petroleum products a week ago, further exacerbating the problem.

High crude prices

The commission cited high crude oil prices at the international market as the reason for the increment.

The Consumers Federation of Kenya, led by Stephen Mutoro, organised demonstrations in various parts of the country, most notably in Nairobi and Mombasa.

A motion moved in Parliament early this week by Budalang’i MP Ababu Namwamba over the high cost of fuel may provide a respite if MPs force the Government to control the prices of the commodity.