There was shock after it emerged that women in Nyandarua County are now the ones’ digging graves after young men were taken hostage by illicit brews.
Pictures doing rounds in the social media scene depict a grim image as three women armed with shovels and mattocks dig a grave to bury a loved one.
A lone man stands nearby leaning on a tree watching the women dig out soil as they prepare the final resting place.
Traditionally it is young men in the Gikuyu community who dug graves and it was considered almost a curse or an abomination for a woman to dig a grave.
For the young men, it was also considered an act of honour when they dug graves and it is the common practice across Gikuyu land.
Women never dug graves, explaining the shock and consternation that the image of the three women digging a grave has met.
The Deputy National Chairman of Kiama Kia Ma Michael Mugo said traditionally only sons would dig graves and conduct burials. Women or daughters would never do it.
However with changing times, Mugo said it was not clear whether the women captured in the picture were “professional” undertakers or grave diggers who did it for a fee.
A resident of Nyandarua said alcohol had taken a high toll on young men and they are now calling themselves hustlers.
“The young men form that section of our population calling themselves hustlers, and believing the lie that (DP William Ruto) will set aside a 30 billion shillings kitty for them,” he said.
Other concerned Nyandarua residents vowed not allow that bad show of women digging graves to continue.
