Of politicians love for funerals

You are in that social media group and you see a spike of posts where the demise of someone is being announced. Whereas its not uncommon to use social media platforms to convey such messages to the public, there's this common trend of total strangers unknown to the bereaved families being the heralds or bearers of sad news without the affected families approval. We live in era of instant communication, and such posts, when reshared, amplifies the message to a wide audience such that close family members of the deceased, who may be living far, gets to know firsthand of it before calling home to confirm same.

That said, funerals in Kenya seems important during electioneering time or premature campaigns where incumbents and aspirants alike uses them to drum support or market their candidacies. Think of that free organic crowd of mourners. No funds spent in mobilization. No logistics headache. No invite of sorts. Just gatecrashing with pomp, with a mounted loudspeaker in full blast, like the last trumpet announcing the resurrection day, but of course having sent something first, either through an emissary or directly, to help offset funeral expenses and smooth the way.

Watch keenly. Where politicians converge, funerals are more of politics than a sombre occasion to eulogize the dead and give them a befitting sendoff. Its where political skullduggery observes. Where the politicians, like dogs gone berserk, will go after each other's jugular. They're like podiums of the absurd.

To endear themselves, these politicians will make it a point to throw flowery words about the departed. How they knew the deceased, their last interaction, or other mundane stuff like which river they took that numbing dip at before facing the "afirianga" or the wizened circumcisor of yore. But usually, you're left wondering how some of these wannabe politicians, some yet to sprout beards, and who are fit to be grandchildren of the late, were magically same age set with a deceased who recently saw the sunset or breathed the last as a centurion. Anyway, this is Kenya where political currency are lies.

Its not all that rosy in funerals where politics of the day clashes. Paid for goons can be mobilized to shout down at political opponents. Its not about the clash of ideologies. Its about who commands the ground. And wants to protect own turf.

The presiding clergy can be dramatic too. He may declare he's having other official functions to attend to. Speakers may be limited to two minutes each. Choirs may be forced to do quick tempos for a four minutes length song in under a minute and a half. Prayers may sound like guttural croaking. But in usual Kenyan style, that may not work as mourners would demand to hear more from their leaders, and shout down the selected speakers.

Funerals are where the interred are praised more than the saints in heaven. Where relatives who don't see eye to eye are reconciled under the banner of mourning one of theirs. Where politicians will make grandiose promises of standing with the families of the deceased but renege immediately when the last clods of soil are heaped on graves.

And when mourners troop out, political messages will have drowned out that homily preached, with the memory of the deceased simply a footnote.