3 Sitting on a Grave

Abstract

COVID-19 in Kenya necessitated an enforcement of Ministry of Health (MOH) burial guidelines. These were met with resistance at various levels, even as the State demanded that these guidelines be unilaterally enforced. After the community of Chiga village was outwitted by the security agents, it took two women’s agency to save the day. The severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) COVID-19 was identified as causing a cluster of pneumonia and deaths in Wuhan city, China on December 31, 2019. In recent times, it has continued to cause morbidity and mortalities due to its rapid spread to other parts of the world, Kenya not being exempted. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Between 83,000 and 190,000 people in Africa could die of COVID-19 and 29 million to 44 million could get infected during the pandemic if containment measures fail. 1 The predicted number of cases that would require hospitalization would overwhelm the available medical capacity in much of Africa. There would be an estimated 3.6 million–5.5 million COVID-19 hospitalizations, of which 82,000–167,000 would be severe cases requiring oxygen and 52,000–107,000 would be critical cases requiring breathing support. 2 COVID-19 as a pandemic has greatly impacted communities worldwide. The measures put in place include social distancing and the discouraging of gatherings embedded within the customs of the people of Kenya and which have of old been useful.