Wailing louder than the bereaved: Up close with a professional mourner

At our lush green Mombasa Road offices park, he rolls on the ground, screams and walks aimlessly like a person possessed by a strange spirit. Wailing uncontrollably, he holds onto the branch of a tree, loudly praising the dearly departed.

Meet aspiring professional mourner Daniel Ochieng Ongwara.

In the natural order of things, the death of someone you know throws you off balance with shock and pain.  On the other hand, if the dearly-departed was a distant acquaintance, you may empathise and feel sorry for the family that has been left behind but you will not be affected to a point of wailing and screaming.

But, with Ochieng’s virtuoso performance, anyone attending a funeral will be fooled into thinking the kinky-haired lad is one of the bereft. Talk of wailing louder than the bereaved.

 The young man from Migori County puts food on the table from attending funerals and grieving with the family and friends of the deceased if not more than them.

So, where do the tears for strangers come from?

“I only think of circumstances that make me sad and the tears flow freely,” he tells Standard Digital, our videographer capturing everything he says.

When asked how professional mourners find customers, Ochieng says: “We liaise with mortuaries and funeral homes – they allow us to place posters advertising our services”.

He adds: “We also read obituaries from the newspapers to find out where the deceased comes from, then we approach the family and apply for the job.”

So far Ochieng has secured two mourning jobs one for which he was paid Sh1000 and the other Sh2000 but he is hopeful of landing more deals in the near future.

The aspiring professional mourner-cum-comedian has also been working hard to land a mourning job at the burial of Rongo University student Sharon Otieno on October 19 “but it has been very difficult to apply for Sharon’s burial as I do not have the links.”

Five years from today, Ochieng sees himself inspiring other Kenyans to join him in the mourning profession.

He also plans to start a professional mourners’ training institute where aspiring professional grievers can learn the art and skill of giving a deceased person a befitting sendoff.

Ochieng is also urging the government to recognise professional mourning as a career.