Morgue business in Kenya: Working multiple jobs isn’t all that uncommon, whether you’re saving up money, starting your own business, or gaining experience in an unfamiliar industry.
But with early mornings, late nights, and way too many responsibilities to keep track of, it’s pretty hard to find a balance between fulfilling your commitments to those jobs and maintaining your sanity.
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K24’s news anchor Eric Njoka is one of the people in the country that works as a journalist and doubles up as a mortuary attendant.
Once Njoka is done with his job at K24, he trades his suit with a white overcoat in his other role as a mortician.
On a normal day Njoka goes through the morgue’s registry and ensures appointments for future clients are in order.
The seasoned journalist also ensures dead bodies are well prepared before burial.
“My dad trained me to be a mortician so to speak. His family objective was to make me work here and learn skills to start my own hospital and mortuary in future. My dream was not to work here and my dad was very strict on us,” says Njoka.
Njoka, however, did not envisage working in the company of the dead as his dream was to become a renowned journalist.
“Forget about having your career objectives, having a dream. My dream was not to work here. My dream was to become a journalist but my dad did not appreciate that career. He never saw any talent in that,” states an elated Njoka. The mortuary he works in was built 15 years ago.
Njoka previously worked for KTN and CGTN Africa. It is not a job that may openly express ambition for, but is one that requires little by way of formal education.
The job of a mortician entails beautification of bodies before burial, but specialists in cosmetology, thanatology or embalming are difficult to find.
It is estimated that about 200,000 people die annually, according to information from the department of civil registration. A significant number of them are preserved in morgues.
This feature on morgue business in Kenya was first published by BY THE STANDARD: