When death comes calling, it is usually the family and friends of the deceased that are left in grief and mourning but for one group of traders from Mt. Kenya region, death is a blessing in disguise.
“It is just okay, your beloved one has just died, but to some us who are still breathing, life must go on. We have to struggle to make our ends meet.” Says James Mburu, a hawker who targets mourners at different morgues with his merchandise.
“I usually hawk my goods around different mortuaries located in Mt. Kenya region. I usually sell cakes, soda, bottled water and airtime to different mourners around these facilities,” said Mr. Mburu.
He says despite feeling for the bereaved families, he still have in mind that the lives of those who are still alive should go on. Mburu observes that despite being affected, the mourners still feel pangs of hunger, thirst hence the need for food and drinks.
Another hawker, Ms. Mercy Waithera opines that morgue areas usually brings together a group of mourners who makes a good market for her products.
“Maybe because these facilities attract fewer business competitions that is why we take the advantage to hike some more prices which fetches good profits” said Waithera.
According to one trader Harry Kimani from Murang’a , he usually peruses through various newspapers in the country his main focus fixed on Obituaries section.
“I usually take a newspaper and go straight to the obituaries sections. This is where I usually look for famous, rich persons who have died, where their bodies are preserved and the date when they will be taken out of the morgue,” said Kimani.
Kimani explains that his main focus is usually on the family of the deceased. The more they are rich, the more his business is likely to flourish at the morgue since he will be selling foodstuffs to the family.
Kimani was speaking to a local media house at Montezuma Monalisa funeral home in Murang’a on August 27th, during a funeral procession belonging to one of the famous women from the region.
“I found out that the family of the deceased comes from a rich background. I took her details from a newspaper obituary, re-printed her image, framed it in a more appealing manner then added some good descriptions on the picture. I came with 200 copies of the same and I have already sold out 50 of them” said Kimani.
Kimani’s story together with that of his fellow hawkers making a good living out of the ‘death’ depicts a region which is rigorously embracing different business ideologies to curb the rising unemployment rate in the country.