Politicians pose danger to bereaved families, says Mukalo wa Kwayera

Veteran journalist Mukalo Kwayera has appealed to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) church to ban politicians from publicly handing cash to bereaved families at burial services

Kwayera argued that the trend is increasingly posing a great danger to families of deceased persons.

He stated that whereas families who lose their loved ones will always need help in many forms, such assistance should be given with a tinge of decorum and a sense of security in mind.

“Let us ensure that we do not endanger the safety of those we are seeking to help. Donating cash or any other materials to the bereaved families is quite in order. However, we must always be conscious of the security of the grieving families once the funeral is over,” he observed.

Kwayera noted that cases of security threats to bereaved families immediately after burials were on the rise and linked the upsurge to the trend by politicians to broadcast their cash donations to spouses or children of the deceased.

The renown editor was speaking at the Malava Friends Church where he and his wife Nancy Mugoshi had gone to thank the congregation for the support members accorded the Kwayera family during the two weeks of mourning of his departed sibling Simpson Senda wa Kwayera.

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Senda was also an elder brother to journalist Juma Kwayera.

Mukalo revealed that just one day after Senda’s burial, thugs attempted to invade the homestead of the deceased with the intention of robbing his widow of the cash publicly handed to her the previous day by politicians during the burial service, before being repulsed by villagers and police from the nearby Malava Police Station.

Stated he: We in the Quakers church are very ethical. We must protect the dignity of our church in the manner that its founders intended. Publicising or boasting about what we assisted others is not in the system and principles of the Friends Church. I am appealing to the leadership of our church, not just here in Malava but the entire country to always advise politicians at Quaker funerals to behave with decorum and not trigger security risks to the bereaved families.”

The media personality gave a brief history of the Friends Church worldwide and asked its leadership in Kenya to ensure that members are enlightened on the achievements of the Church right from an early age.

He noted that the Friends Church was the first Christian institution in the world to allow women to preach and also the only religious institution in the world to be reserved a permanent seat at the United Nations owing to its strong principles and guidance on global peace.

Pastor Nelson Shaka extolled the virtues of integrity and honesty.

He asked congregants to be truthful to each other and place God before everything else while guest preacher Ruth Nasimiyu based her sermon on hope and dignity of the soul and mind of a Christian.