By Sospeter Otieno
Cremation of Kibra MP Hon Ken Okoth happened fast… . That’s what u do… there would have been chaos in Kasipul Kabondo. Those guys were going to kidnap the body and bury it there…
I am an expert in Luo burial chaos and there’s not a way on earth jogweng we’re going to be kind under the present circumstances…. they had enough time to assemble & stockpile weapons of mass destruction …that’s what a good woman like Monica does…. execute your will fast and to the letter.
Hon Ken Okoth had so much cultural backlog that would have taken at least 6 months of daily luo rites and chike to clear. Cremation is the new cool.
If you plan to be cremated especially when you are Luo, tell them to do it within 24 hrs, if you wait there’s going to be a tussle over the body, yet a body is just that- a body that serves no purpose. Africans used to dispose it in the forest to be devoured by hyenas. We need a legal framework to invoke the inviolability and irrevocability of a living will and wishes. If I have the privilege of knowing that am dying in advance(which is a privilege and blessing by the way), I should be able to write an irrevocable burial plan.
Living as a Luo man is the greatest privilege, feels royalty but death is always sophisticated, it’s like Luos have an unwritten constitution yet it’s leadership like Jakom, Nyong’o, Orengo aren’t doing anything about this mess and chaos dating back to S.M. Otieno.
Leadership is about guiding your community on how to address modern generational challenges. Raila addressed circumcision, but that’s probably because this was the greatest political impediment. The often handpicked Luo council of elders, who should now comprise educated and progressive folks should be deliberating on such matters. A society evolves, culture evolves too. However, if Okoth preferred cremation, those privy to his wishes should defend that wish to its conclusion.
