Kenya's societal changes see rise of professional mourners

How do you guarantee a good turn out at a funeral?

In Kenya, some families are hiring professional mourners to give their loved ones the ultimate send-off.

In the lakeside town of Rabuor in Kisumu, mourners are paying their last respects to a loved one.

But not all of those crying for the dead are family and friends. Some are complete strangers who have been paid to grieve.

Funerals in western Kenya are deeply rooted in culture and professional mourners are common in the Luo community.

According to Victor Ouma, a professional mourner, the gig offers an honest source of income in a country where job opportunities are scarce.

"It is difficult to find a job in Kenya. However, we decided to take advantage of funerals since they occur regularly. We thought it would be a great venture that would enable us to earn an income away from crime and idleness," he says.

The hired mourners begin their duties when the body leaves the mortuary.

They wail and sing dirges until the body is buried.

They operate as a business, and the service can include catering, tents, as well as mourners.

"At times a person has no family, but has money, and at least they need somebody or people to come and be with them, stand with them, so that they can give their loved one a better send-off. It comes to a point where they need professional mourners and that is where we come in," explains professional mourner Francis Oyoo.

For Georgina Achieng, the niece of the deceased being honoured, professional mourners were necessary as her late uncle did not have an immediate family of his own.

"In our culture as Luo, we believe that if somebody is dead, if you don't give him a good send off, his spirit might hover around and maybe haunt some people, like the children or maybe even the family members. So if you give him a good send off, we believe that his spirit is happy," she says.

A crowded funeral procession is seen as a status symbol in the Luo community.

Ahead of the funeral, the paid mourners are briefed about the life of the deceased.

For those involved, emotions come easily.

"We don't have to be related to the person. We only have to get the feeling that a human being is dead and then start to cry. Now we will be thinking if it were my relative. That is how it comes, that we can mourn someone who we are not related to," says Willis Omondi, manager of the professional mourners.

Experts claim there has been a rise in the use of professional mourners, which reflects broader societal changes in Kenya.

"We have nucleated families. So you find that when an individual passes on, the degree to which you have people related to you by blood in the urban centers may not be there," explains Owuor Olunga, a professor of anthropology at the University of Nairobi.

"So in such cases, depending on your standing in life, standing in position in society, you may find that there are all manners of mourners, most of the time not hired by the family, but brought in by your friends or your social network to be able to show your worth," he adds.

Back in Rabuor, grief fills the air as the coffin is lowered into the grave.

For family and friends, it's a chance to bid a final farewell to their loved one.

For others, it's another day at work.