This archive report was first published on 10 August 2019.
On July 26, 2019, the country witnessed a cultural declaration when Kibra MP Ken Okoth died. His cremation, as stipulated in his will, sparked a heated debate among his relatives and constituents, who found it 'against their culture.'
However, the cremation was just the beginning of the cultural declarations that followed. The leadership of a splinter group of the Luo Council of Elders demanded that Okoth's widow, Mrs Monica Okoth, be inherited according to the community's traditions.
The group's chairman, Mr Nyandiko Ongadi, claimed that this would fulfill Luo cultural demands. But whose wishes would inheriting a grieving widow fulfill? Certainly not hers.
Since culture is flexible and meant to advance humanity, one is tempted to think that there must be an agenda beyond the 'it's our culture' justification when such sentiments are brought up.
For example, what does their culture say about respecting a dead man's wishes? About taking care of widows and single mothers? Or about shouting through media outlets things that could be whispered in the privacy of homes?
Unfortunately, it is women and children who bear the brunt of the repercussions of backward cultural practices. HIV/Aids, fistula, unplanned pregnancies, and even death are just a few of the examples of what happens when culture is applied for the convenience of a few people.
As Nigerian writer Chimamanda Adichie once said, 'Culture is man-made. Culture does not make people. People make culture.' So if there is anything in our culture that does not move this society forward, then it's time we adapted what we have to the needs of the people.
Perhaps one culture should be that of comforting widows instead of inheriting them. Of nurturing children instead of marrying them. Of educating children instead of 'cutting' them. Now, wouldn't that be a beautiful thing?
