When funerals leave Kenyans as broke as a church mouse

- Xinhua

Nairobi, Kenya: As January slowly glided towards the end, John Ameyo's heart warmed up as he knew he would soon be back on a firm financial position.

The 36-year-old was struggling to survive a bruising financial problem that had seen him spend part of this month as broke as a church mouse. But even as he struggled, Ameyo knew his predicament was not his own making. His uncle and cousin died two weeks apart and Ameyo was at the heart of organizing their funerals, exercises that battered him financially. "My uncle died in late December and my cousin two weeks later. Both of them were living in Nairobi and we had to transport their bodies back home in western Kenya for burial," recounted Ameyo in a recent interview. If they had buried the bodies in a cemetery in Nairobi, the funerals would not have left him and others quite as broke.  "Our culture does not allow burying our people in cemeteries or away from their ancestral homes. Even if they died in Somalia or Europe, their bodies must be returned home," he asserted.

After his uncle's death, Ameyo was tasked with organizing the burial arrangements, thanks to his mobilisation skills. "We first met a few of us and identified all those we needed to inform of his death and asked them for contributions. We then sent them text-messages," he said. The following days saw Ameyo, his friends and relatives meet at a restaurant in Nairobi's central business district to hold fundraisers as they planned for the funeral. “Our target was to raise at least 1,764 U.S. dollars to cater for hiring of the hearse for transportation of the body, buy coffin, pay for mortuary and post-mortem expenses and food for the burial ceremony," he narrated, adding that the hearse was to take nearly half of the cash as the family was to hire a 42-seater minibus.

After meeting for three consecutive days to fundraise, the family raised 1,294 dollars. “We thanked all those who had contributed towards the funeral arrangement, but we had not met our target. That meant that we had to cut our expenses," said Ameyo. However, after going through the budget, Ameyo, who was the chairman of the funeral committee, realized despite doing away with some items, they could not go beyond 1,529 dollars. "My brother and I dipped into our pockets and raised 352 dollars, each of us contributing half of the money. We later transported the body to his home in Butere for burial," said the pharmacist.

At home (400 km away from Nairobi), the family slaughtered a young bull and several chickens for mourners, among other meals to make the funeral memorable. Ameyo and his family repeated a similar feat two weeks later, though on a smaller scale, when his cousin died.  "We only raised 941 dollars as most people complained they did not have money. But it was enough to transport the body home in a 14-seater vehicle and cater for other expenses," said Ameyo, who used over 500 dollars on the two funerals, leaving him broke. His experience is common among many Kenyans, especially those working in Nairobi and other towns. Funerals milk them dry, if not sending them to bankruptcy as they strive to accord the dead a decent burial. "The burden of funerals is too heavy especially for those Kenyans coming from western Kenya," noted lecturer Henry Wandera. "The economics of funerals is mindboggling and complicated."

The economics lecturer observed that some middle-income families spend as much as 5,882 dollars on funerals. "This money comes from fundraisers, family savings and sometimes loans. Most of the time this is not money that they have ready; they have to solicit from people. It becomes more burdensome for the family when the person was of high status in society," he said. While Wandera noted that the huge amount of cash spent on funerals is not justified, he believes it is necessary, especially if a family has the money. "If the family has money, let them spend on the funeral as they wish, but it beats logic for one to take a loan or terrorize people with text-messages to send contributions," he said.

Social worker Naomi Njeri observed that funerals have become expensive because the burden has now been left exclusively to family members. “People are no longer willing to contribute for funerals. The worst happens when the person was living in the city. Those in rural areas where he is to be buried will leave all duties to those in the city, but they will attend the funeral and expect to be fed well," she said. Njeri blames it on poverty in rural Kenya and breakdown of social structures. "In the past, someone would donate a cow or goat; others brought firewood and volunteered to cook. But these days, that rarely happens, now people want to sell to you the animal once they hear you have a funeral or they expect  you to  pay them to cook for mourners," she said.

However, it is not only in rural areas that people have become uncooperative when it comes to funerals. “Even in towns, you can call for a funeral meeting but people will not turn up despite you sending reminders to them because they know you need money. Some of them have perfected the habit that they are never bothered. Others will turn up, make pledges but they will not hand in the cash," said Njeri. The huge funeral expenses have made some of those living in urban areas start benevolent schemes to cushion themselves and their families from the burden. “We have a scheme of 80 people where we contribute 4.7 dollars every month. When one of us loses a family member or relative, we give them cash to help organize for the burial," explained Japheth Ojiambo, who lives in Dandora on the east of the capital.

The group has been running the scheme, which comprises of people working mainly in the informal sector, for years. “If a member, his child or wife dies, the family is given 1,764 dollars. If it is a parent, the family gets 1,176 dollars. This has helped us do away with the burden of calling for funeral meetings, “said Ojiambo, the secretary. The huge expenses used in funerals, according to Wandera, have made the industry one of the most lucrative. "The dead are supporting coffin makers, mortuaries, florists, funeral homes, transport companies, caterers and insurance firms among others. All these people make profits from funerals," he said.

A coffin goes for at least 117 dollars, a wreath for an average of 29 dollars and for a hearse, a 14-seater vehicle costs 411 dollars to transport a body to western Kenya from the capital. Insurance companies in the East African nation have started schemes to help people cater for funerals, including those in diaspora. For those in diaspora, one pays from 119 dollars a year to enable them get a Kenyan funeral while those in Kenya can pay from 2.4 dollars a month. Kenya’s annual death rate, according to United Nations Population Division, stood at 11 people per 1,000 in 2011. This translates to a huge number of deaths for the 40 million people in the nation.