By Team
Finally, the Luo community is waking up to the negative effects of expensive funerals, which are a recipe for poverty and economic degeneration.
Political leaders, scholars, the business community, and residents are in agreement that expensive and elaborate funerals have been turned into a money-minting industry and are having a negative impact on the community.
Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, at the weekend, finally broke his silence over the matter and called on the community and the Luo Council of Elders to initiate a conversation on the issue.
Raila asked the Luo Council of Elders to urgently address the concerns that have emerged over funerals in the community and guide the people on the best way forward.
“We must have a conversation about our funerals and the economic impact it has on the community’s economy. The council of elders needs to guide the community on this important discourse.
Funerals cannot be industries. The Luo community had a structured way for burials and it did not take a long time. The expenditures were clearly guided, unlike what we have today.
This is not the way to grow as a community. It is time we re-evaluated ourselves and returned to the old ways of how the community handled burials and the expenditures that go with it,” he said.
Luo Council of Elders’ Mzee Odungi Randa said the community has adopted very negative practices and is to blame for the high cost of funeral expenditures.
He said in the past, the Luo community would bury the deceased immediately after death, just like the Muslim community.
“We are a very difficult people. I have raised this matter, and it is now time we must address it as a people. We must go back to our old practices and avoid imitation,” he said.
Randa said he will convene an urgent meeting with the community leadership and professionals to chart a new path on the matter.
He noted that, traditionally, before the burial of the deceased, members of the Luo community did not feast or eat at funerals.
Randa said the elaborate and expensive funerals have a negative impact on bereaved families and often leave them poorer.
Kisumu Woman Representative, Ms Ruth Odinga, said funerals have become lucrative business ventures, and most of those engaged in event management are not even from the Luo community.
“The majority of the event managers are not from the Luo community, and it is sad that after the burial, the bereaved families are confined to poverty. The millions that were raised have all been consumed,” she said.
Ruth said the high expectations surrounding funerals are crippling several financial initiatives by women’s and youth groups, as they are forced to withdraw their savings and also borrow to meet the high funeral costs.
“We, as a community, overspend on funerals, which is unrealistic for the community’s economic growth. We must have a change of attitude on the matter to avoid sinking the community into abject poverty,” she said.
Ruth also blamed politicians for turning funerals into political rallies, adding that they prefer to contribute towards funerals rather than development projects.
