This archive report was first published on 24 July 2019.
Funeral costs in Kenya have become unsustainable, with many families struggling to foot extravagant budgets. The culture of feasting and merrymaking at funerals is surprising, with money collected often used to feed mourners and pay professional mourners.
According to a research commissioned by the Association of Kenya Insurers, only three per cent of Kenyans have funeral covers. This policy would ensure that families are not left worse off financially after the death of a loved one.
Prof EGARA KABAJI, a researcher and professor of literary communication at Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST), argues that it is necessary to increase the uptake of funeral insurance policies to cover for the cost of coffin, transport, and food. This would dramatically reduce the fundraising that is almost choking Kenyans.
Moreover, it is essential to rethink our methods of disposal of bodies. In rural Kenya, some homesteads look like cemeteries, with graves dotting them, which devalues the land. The latest technology of disposing of human bodies converts human remains into soil for use in gardens, which is better for the earth than any other form of disposal.
Published on July 24, 2019, at 6:36 PM.
