Culture in the midst of a pandemic: Lessons from Ja Chiga’s chaotic funeral

On the morning of June 11, 2020, Benard Obonyo breathed his last at St. Jairus Hospital in Kisumu. Were it not for who he was and the kind of following he commanded, his funeral would have been just like any of the numerous others that have taken place in Kisumu County during the coronavirus era, with a small group of mourners witnessing the internment of his remains.