Residents of Maji Mazuri village, Lugari location in Lugari sub county have been left in shock after one of them held a solo burial function for his dead hen where he sang mourning songs, read the Bible and prayed before burying the hen, cementing the grave and promised to hold anniversary services.
Speaking to West Media, Mr. Joseph Victor Omulai said he really loved his hen and was saddened by its sudden death alleging it succumbed to injuries after it was beaten by one of the residents and therefore he must honour it by giving it a principled burial. “I bought seven chicks last year and took care of them up to maturity but others were stolen and I was left with this one which had laid 12 eggs, just waiting for them to hatch, but unfortunately, somebody hit it, causing its death,” said Omulai.
He said he fed his hen in the morning before he left for work but when he returned in the evening he found it lying lifeless on the nest. “It is so painful my brother.”
Omulai sang mourning songs that evening, attracting the attention of neighbours and late at night played loud music as is the norm at a ‘disco matanga’ until morning.
He later conducted a one man burial service where he read the Bible, preached and went on to curse the person who caused the death of his hen.
He then dug a 3ft grave, wrapped the hen together with the eggs in a white piece of cloth and buried it and later cemented the grave and wrote on it ‘Rass Hen 2019’ and promised to hold memorial services in remembrance of his hen.
Residents led by Mrs. Halima Daraja have been left perplexed by the incident. “I was informed of the incident by my neighbour but I didn’t believe, when I came here I was shocked to find him mourning for his hen, and he read Bible, prayed before burying it as we watched in disbelief,” said Halima.
Another resident said she heard of the incident from her children who had passed by Omulai’s compound and witnessed the shocking event. “In fact I chased my children and warned them against lying to me, but after they insisted that I see myself, I decided to come and witness and I couldn’t believe what I saw,” She said.
On her part, Ms Caroline Awinja said since she missed to the burial service, she is anxiously waiting to see how Omulai will conduct the anniversary service.