For most people, going back to visit the grave where a loved one was laid is never an option. The graves therefore, left unattended, become bushy with shrubs growing all around them.

This is where people like Moses Mburu come in, doing a job that most people steer clear of because of various superstitions like being haunted by ghosts.

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Speaking to Mtaa Wangu Mr. Mburu says he has been a graveyard attendant at Nakuru North cemetery for 17 years.

Moses Mburu cleans up one of the graves at Nakuru north cemetery on September 5, 2023.

Photo credit: BRET SANYA/MTAA WANGU

“My friend Francis was the one who introduced me to this job back in the 90s and ever since then I developed a passion for it,” he says.

Like every job, Mburu says this too has challenges.

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“The challenge for us comes in when it rains. The graveyard usually becomes very muddy therefore moving around in the cemetery becomes challenging.”

Away from these challenges, Mburu has been able to convince a number of families to entrust him with the responsibility of being a grave keeper for their loved ones' resting place, at a fee.

Mburu charges Sh 500 per grave every month.

Photo credit: BRET SANYA/MTAA WANGU

“I usually charge Sh 500 per month for each grave. In that month my job is to sweep the dead leaves around the grave and tend to the flowers around it," he explains.

Mburu further says he has worked at North cemetery for so long that he knows where most people have been buried.

"I have done this for so long that I know the arrangement of the graves, from those of the early 90s to date. Some times I become a tour guide for families who come here looking for their loved ones who were buried years ago,” he adds.

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“I have been here for so long over the years that people around the cemetery refer to me as Mburu wa cemetery. I accredit this to the fact that I have become so good at maintaining the graves and people know me for this and this alone,” he notes.

Mburu now pleads with the County Government to give him a job as a casual labourer at the cemetery since he already has the hands on experience of the job.

sanyabret@gmail.com

The man who tends to graves at Nakuru north cemetery

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Bret Sanya