Politics should be banned from funerals as it is distressing to the bereaved, Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua has said.
“Some people wait for someone to die so that they use the audience as a platform for insulting others and to engage in empty politics,” Mutua said when he toured Machakos town on Tuesday.
“Any leader who goes to a funeral and uses the occasion to attack others or make wild political statements should be banned from speaking. Why take advantage of someone’s death to enhance your personal agenda? That is not only selfish, greedy, wrong but also sinful.”
The county chief stated that politicians at times do not know the person who has died or even have a personal connection with the bereaved family. "All they see is an audience that has to listen to their vitriol".
The governor said, “People attend funerals to comfort the bereaved and to pay their respect to the one who has left this world. They do not attend funerals to witness name-calling, campaigns and even microphone grabbing.”
Mutua called for decorum and asked Kenyans to reject leaders "whose hunger for identity and fame blinds them to the reality at hand".
He said he enjoys interacting with the electorate from whom he learns firsthand the issues that are of concern to them.
“As I got my shoes brushed, I was told of areas that my government needs to look into to make Machakos a 24-hour economy. Over a cup of tea and a plate of mandazi and chapati, I shared stories with mothers, fathers and youth and listened to their dreams,” he said.
(Edited by R.Wamochie)
