MAGOHA’S INLAWS DOES THE UNTHINKABLE ON HIS FUNERAL

The late Prof George Magoha’s inlaws from Nigeria stood by their son as his body was moved from the Lee Funeral Home for viewing by members of the public.

Footage seen by a local media indicates that the family of Dr Barbra Magoha surrounded the hearse ferrying Magoha’s body before it left the mortuary.

In a befitting honour, four men dressed in all white, covered from head to toe, stood on the right side of the vehicle. Behind them was a man and woman dawning Nigerian attire.

At the front of the hearse, a lady stood with a hand fan, which she used to tap the windscreen on the side of Magoha’s coffin lay three times.

The four men then lifted wooden rods over the vehicle for a few seconds before moving rhythmically to the back of the vehicle before the procession made its way to the Starehe Boys’ Centre.

Leading the motorcade were two police riders, and when they got to the school’s entrance, Magoha’s inlaws conducted a second ritual before his body was removed for viewing.

The in-laws lined up, with the four men leading from the front, this time joined by women dawned in traditional Nigerian attire, blue kitenge dresses with red headscarves.

In unison, the four men jumped multiple times around the car, chanting dirges. They then led the team to dance around the hearse twice.

After the short ritual, the vehicle proceeded, but the inlaws remained, dancing to the beat of music played by traditional drummers.

According to Nigerian Customs, white and red are the preferred colours for funerals, hence the all-white for men and red headscarves.

The people from the West African county also mark death differently depending on how a person died. The mood is usually sombre if the individual died when young or in a road accident.

However, the mood was generally celebratory for Magoha, who lived a long and successful life.

Nigerian funerals are also characterised by a lot of music, singing, and dancing as they believe it betters the deceased’s chances of having a better afterlife.

Sourced from Kenyans