No word about Kimondo’s funeral arrangements
Since he passed away on Tuesday 18th January 2011, there has been no word about funeral arrangements of Mr. Patrick Kimondo, a Kenyan who has been residing in Stockholm for decades. KISS agents have reported that Kimondo’s family in Sweden have not been communicating much about funeral arrangements, a sign that probably, the family wants the event to be an internal and private family function as per Swedish culture.
For beginners, it is acceptable in Sweden that a family can decide to keep away everybody from a funeral or dictate who attends/doesn’t attend if they so wish. In such a situation, no one has any right whatsoever to question the arrangement. The current “zero information” following Kimondo’s death is slowly convincing many Kenyans in Stockholm that they may not get an opportunity to pay their last respects to Kimondo or bid him farewell.
We have to emphasize that the “zero information” situation is purely speculatory because so far, KSB agents have been unable to establish direct links with Kimondo’s family since no phone calls are getting through. Under normal circumstances, an “Open House” could have been opened at Kimondo’s house for friends to console the family and deliver condolences but so far, an aura of queitness has dominated the scene.
Kimondo came to Sweden in the 60s and, according to some contacts, he may have to be buried in Sweden by his three Swedish children and extended family members who may opt for a “Swedish way” of handling the funeral.
What is interesting about the case is that members of the Kikuyu community have not been making any organized attempts to establish the circumstances of his funeral, given that he was a “Kikuyu elder” in Stockholm. Even some of Kimondo’s closest friends have been extremely quiet since this son of Kenya passed away almost a week ago, prompting the Kenya-Stockholm underground channels to enter into a wave of speculation about what is happening. According to sources, some Kenyans used to visit him in hospital to take porridge and other Kenyan delicacies but now, these Kenyans have all gone into “silent mode”, switched off their phones or simply gone underground.
According to some sources, the situation could be serious because some insiders have told KSB that the breaking of news about Kimondo’s death by KISS agents who had access to insider details “did not go down well” in certain quarters because the news was reportedly supposed to be kept under wraps for some unclear reasons. When the news reached KSB, there was no indication that it was supposed to be kept secret although it could be interesting to establish why the death of such a prominent Kenyan elder needed to be concealed in the first place. Sam Pippo in the Kimondo circle are disappointed because they do not know how KSB picked the story only a few hours after Kimondo made his final transformation, a process which was widely expected by those close to him since he had been ailing for a long time.
Although no one has a right to question the current “information black-out”, Kimondo was a well-known Kenyan who had several Kenyan friends. Even if the family prefers a “Swedish burial” as has been alluded, wild speculation could have been tamed if Kenyans and friends were given the opportunity to say good bye to him before his Swedish burial.
May be, it is still too early for concerns to be raised but if Kimondo is laid to rest without Kenyans being given an opportunity to bid him farewell, the exclusion will be a big disappointment to his closest contacts. Many Kenyans had expected that a “Funeral Committee” comprising of Kimondo’s family and close Kenyan friends would be set up to update the community but so far, there has been no information as to whether or not such a Committee is already in place.
Fingers are being pointed at Kikuyu elders because they were expected to take contacts with Kimondo’s family and update Kenyans about funeral arrangements since Kimondo was a respected Kenyan but so far, the elders have been tight-lipped although they are aware that Kimondo is dead.
No one really knows whether Kimondo’s family in Kenya will be represented at the funeral if he is accorded a Swedish burial. Kimondo may have/have not left a will to be buried in Sweden but this is not the key concern. The issue is whether his family in Kenya is aware about the circumstances, whether they would like to get involved and whether there has been any room for their involvement. Many Kenyans who have called KSB appear to be interested more in paying their last respects to Kimondo regardless of where he is being buried or the circumstances involved.
Parallels with the case of James Wuod Maggero
If we might rewind, Kimondo’s case might be compared to that of the late Mr. James Wuod Maggero (who died in January 2007) although in the Kimondo instance, the realities are more complex and detached. In the case of Maggero, news about his death was broken by KSB four days after he passed away, a development that did not please the family. The same case seem to apply in the Kimondo situation.
Maggero was married to a Swedish woman, just like Kimondo but the difference is that Kimondo’s wife passed away a few years ago. It is notable that when his wife passed away, Kimondo informed his friends and even invited Kenyans to his residence to condole with him during a moment of tragedy. It is therefore interesting that almost a week after his death, information about his funeral is scarce.
In the Maggero case, family members in Kenya were never represented at the funeral and if Kimondo’s family members will go through the same treatment, a similarity will, most likely be drawn by keen observers. Although Maggero’s Swedish family tried to “fix” a family member who lived in London to “represent the family” at the funeral, it was quickly established that the said member was a “distant relative” who was married to Maggero’s son and who divorced the son fifteen years before Maggero’s death.
Another parallel which could be drawn is that in the Maggero case, a Swedish family was involved, just like in the case of Kimondo. The interesting connection is whether the Kimondo funeral will be an exclusive preserve of the family as per the Swedish law or whether the family will allow Kimondo’s Kenyan family to play a role as per Kikuyu culture. Maggero’s body was later cremated amid calls that the family in Kenya ought to have been part of the process but these calls fell on deaf ears. Since there is no information, it is not clear whether Kimondo’s body will be buried or whether it will be cremated “Maggerro style”.
When Maggero passed away after a long illness, members of the Luo community opened a struggle to allow his family members in Kenya to be involved in the funeral arrangements. The climax was when the community hired a lawyer to stop the process pending contacts with family members but in the end, they failed and the family got its way. KSB was banned from the Memorial service after being accused by the family of reporting the Maggero developments at the blog. By not intervening in the Kimondo process, are members of the Kikuyu community unconcerned about the death and final rights of their respected son or has Kimondo’s Swedish family blacked them out of the whole process? It will be a great disservice to Kimondo if the elders he used to interact with fail to link with the family to give direction to Kenyans here on key developments.
The body of Mousa Awuonda, a Kenyan Journalist who passed away in January 2009, was cremated in Stockholm but everybody was comfortable because he left a will that he wanted to be cremated and his ashes be sprayed in lake victoria. His sister travelled all the way from Kenya to be part of the funeral while a Memorial service where Kenyans and friends were invited was also held for him. It was this transparency and the presence of a family member that prevented a controversy after Awuonda passed away in Stockholm.
Despite the “strange circumstances” (from the point of view of Luo culture) that his body was disposed of, there was no tension, arguments or conflict, proof that Kenyans are not interested in controversy but in paying their last respects to their departed friends. It is in this context that the Kimondo case needs to be examined.
Okoth Osewe
About the Author
Death does not promise and it comes like a thief with no notice of the day.Some times we can not blame any one on a such move, it depend on how one communicate with his friends, and how he or she contacts with Kenyans family or the circumstances which made him to reside in Sweden Stockholm no one knows except himself and wife.People who stays abroard have so many reasons.Let it be as it is.
While it is true that the open-house concept is somewhat of a tradition in Stockholm, the implication of this article is that since one hasn’t been called for there is need for concern. Despite the article’s author stating further on in the article that the family has the discretion in taking whatever course of action they determine, the seed of doubt and suspicion in the minds of those reading the article has effectively been planted. This is a time to show solidarity with the family and we should not politicize the issue of his passing. Traditions vary depending on whom and where, moreover intruding on sacred and sensitive family matters or scoring socio-political points in the guise of keeping Kenyans informed should be the furthest thing from one’s mind at this time. With this in mind analyzing what the family is, should or would do is definitely not in keeping with the concepts of civility and only reinforces the notion of underlying malice being afoot.
According to the article Kimondo was a “kikuyu elder” hence the supposition that he must be accorded the respect this position demands. Age alone does not determine an elder, in the accepted use of the term and furthermore one cannot be slapped with the title just because it suits the moment especially posthumously. To my knowledge Stockholm doesn’t have an accepted corps of elders amongst the Kikuyu community and therefore claiming that Kimondo was one is tantamount to fiction and is frankly speaking, all in the authors mind. If the kikuyu elder corps does indeed exit one wonders how the group has remained so elusive for so long and not revealed themselves when leadership has been wanting. Perhaps the author could post an article informing Kenyans of intricacies of elder selection, for the Kenyan communities represented in Stockholm. This would be most informative and who knows, they may be even potential elders amongst those uninformed of these events as myself. This is perhaps a better path to take in achieving the cohesiveness we lack as a society. But as the cause of everything that plagues Kenyans everywhere, I would bet an arm and a leg that the concept of Stockholm elders is just another smoke-screen for the age-old politics of opportunism. Let us stop deluding ourselves and climb out of the parasitic quagmire of stomach politics.
As usual there is a campaign that is been waged on behalf of the group dubbed Kenyan Stockholmers, and it is both distasteful and dishonorable. What is shocking is that in this day and age the majority of Kenyans, even in Stockholm, still remain silent while their opinions are been voiced by proxy. And yet they clamor for change behind closed doors. The change Kenyans want begins by saying no, a resounding NO to being used. Stand and be counted, I have chosen to do so.
KSB: Kanda, your thesis is that to be an “elder” within the Kenyan context, you have to be organized in a group. At his age of 66, Kimondo was an elder with or without having been part of an organized group. To allude that without a group of “organized elders” there are no elders is to suggest that without a Nation there are no people. This is disjointed logic. Whether you like it or not, there are Kenyans here referred to as “Wazee wa Kazi” and there are “Vijana” aka the youth. Even Swedes do organize memorial services for their loved ones before retreating to a private burial. The thrust of the article is that if Kimondo is sent to his final resting place without his friends being accorded an opportunity to pay their last respects, it will not be in order because he was well known and liked by many people. Other assumptions you make to build a bogus case of “politicization” of the matter do not deserve a response because they are pedestrian.
The issue of people calling KSB to ask questions and make demands on the family is of course open to interpretation. Some may see it as an act of compassion arising out of concern while others may view it as an act of interference geared to creating confusion. One may even call it gossip. Your article is therefore based purely on supposition, speculative and fictitious. It is pure fantasy and belongs in the realms of novel writing not matter how strenuous your defense. Let us not encroach on the privacy of others and always engage ourselves in matters that are above reproach.
Since, as you put it, being an elder doesn’t necessarily mean being organized, it nullifies your point of kikuyu elders being expected to contact the family. If not this would be most contradictory. One does however expect individuals, that are elders per KSB definition, to voice their personal opinions but this does not reflect the opinion of the community in question as a whole because they do not have the mandate to do so. They would have to ascribe to belonging to an organized group of elders known to the members of that particular community. That being the case, my disjointed logic leads me to believe that some Kenyans in Stockholm have the morbid need to create conspiracies to attract attention, inflate their egos and perspectives of self-importance.
KSB:
>The issue of people calling KSB to ask questions and make demands on the family is of course open to interpretation.
#No one has called KSB to make any demands on the FAMILY. KSB broke the story and consequently, Kimondo’s friends have been calling to try and ESTABLISH whether there is any info about a Memorial where they could pay their last respects. You are reading more than what is there then using these additions to present your argument. This is your Achilles’ heel.
>Since, as you put it, being an elder doesn’t necessarily mean being organized, it nullifies your point of kikuyu elders being expected to contact the family…
#Majority of Kimondo’s closest friends (names on file) are elderly Kenyans, just like him. These are the elders the article is referring to, not some Kikuyu Elder’s Association in Stockholm or GEMA in Scandinavia as you tend to think. Twisted logic is when you want readers to believe that since these friends are not organized, they are not elders. In your bemused reasoning, “elders” must be an “organized group of people” and your failure to grasp this simple point is what is leading your key argument astray.
>…to voice their personal opinions but this does not reflect the opinion of the community in question as a whole because they do not have the mandate to do so.
#The article does not say that these elders speak on behalf of the Kikuyu “community in question as a whole”. This is your sole addition. If you can bother to re-read the article, it says that these elders were expected to intervene (in the face of silence) because of their known and close proximity to Kimondo during his life time.
>That being the case, my disjointed logic leads me to believe that some Kenyans in Stockholm have the morbid need to create conspiracies to attract attention, inflate their egos and perspectives of self-importance.
#Be that as it may, some malicious commentators at KSB have an insatiable appetite of shamelessly twisting facts to fit into their parochial agenda of creating drama where there is none, fostering undue antagonism and employing crude sophistry to sound erudite when they are actually wallowing in mediocrity.
Michael Kanda, wewe ndio uache siasa za drama. You don’t have to read politics hata kwa msiba kama hii.
ngware kisia, maisha ni drama na drama ni maisha. Pilipili gani unakuasha? Lazima mtu atoe maoni yake ama pia hio ni makosa? Maoni yangu ni watu waishi kama ndugu na utache siasa za kumalizana kama hizi.