12 characters you will never miss at Kenyan funerals!

Professional mourners come from far and wide [Photo: Courtesy]

There are characters, then there are characters at Kenyan funerals. Though funerals are sad and sombre occasions, these mourners provide for fascinating people-watching episodes when paying last respects.

You will find the gossiper, the ‘FBI surveillance officer,’ the village mad man, the show-off, the city slay queens, the township mongrel and those who came to cause chaos, including the mpango and her brood, not forgetting the hungry who attend funerals to feast, and those who fight for funeral programmes. They are all in attendance.