George Wajackoya, the leader of the Roots Party, recently opened up about his past work as a mortuary attendant in a foreign land. During an interview with Wasafi, he explained that he did not have many options at the time and that he eventually began to see the job as any other. Wajackoya also raised the idea of the government opening a school to teach individuals who want to become morticians.
Meanwhile, Ann Njoki Mwangangi, a celebrated mortician in Kenya, shared her experiences as a mortician. She noted that her sensitivity to smell made her first experience handling a dead body uncomfortable, and that morticians receive all types of bodies, some of which have been there for a long time. Despite the challenges, Mwangangi and her colleagues strive to offer top-notch services to help dispel misconceptions about morgues.
As a mortician, Mwangangi’s primary responsibility is to slow down the decomposition of the body, so that when family members come to collect their loved one, they can see them looking as they did when alive. Mwangangi also emphasized that morticians play a vital role in counseling the bereaved family and helping them transition through the grieving process.
Mwangangi’s own experience with grief inspired her to become a mortician, as she wanted to help others transition through the mourning process. She believes that morticians do much more than just handle dead bodies and that they provide critical support to the bereaved family during this difficult time. Ultimately, morticians aim to ensure that the grieved family is satisfied and knows that their loved one is in safe hands as they prepare for burial.
