{"id":10631,"date":"2021-07-01T17:35:41","date_gmt":"2021-07-01T17:35:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/?p=10631"},"modified":"2021-07-01T17:50:34","modified_gmt":"2021-07-01T17:50:34","slug":"strangemuranga-man-digs-his-own-grave-and-buys-his-coffin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/?p=10631","title":{"rendered":"Strange!Murang&#8217;a man digs his own grave and buys his coffin."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><br>Murang\u2019a man who built a tomb for his burial and wrote his own eulogy at it again! Now has special coffin<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"443\" height=\"960\" src=\"http:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/FB_IMG_1625161401768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-10635\" srcset=\"https:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/FB_IMG_1625161401768.jpg 443w, https:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/FB_IMG_1625161401768-138x300.jpg 138w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 443px) 100vw, 443px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Who remembers Samuel Karanja aka Kumenya? The&nbsp;Murang\u2019a&nbsp;man who hit the headlines in January this year for digging his own grave and writing his eulogy?<br>Well he is at it again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This time round, the 74-year-old from Kiharu walked straight into a coffin shop in Murang\u2019a town and bought himself one. So determined to die is the elderly man \u2013 no pun intended \u2013 that he requested for a customised coffin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-1 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"443\" height=\"960\" src=\"http:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/FB_IMG_1625161360268.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"10636\" data-full-url=\"http:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/FB_IMG_1625161360268.jpg\" data-link=\"http:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/?attachment_id=10636\" class=\"wp-image-10636\" srcset=\"https:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/FB_IMG_1625161360268.jpg 443w, https:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/FB_IMG_1625161360268-138x300.jpg 138w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 443px) 100vw, 443px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Back in January, he named his final resting place \u201cKumenya\u201d, after his alias which loosely translated to \u2018to know\u2019. The name \u201cKumenya\u201d has been plastered on top of the grey coffin, which has been fixed with wheels for mobility. Unlike other coffins, his does not have a mirror for body viewing when he finally dies.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After the carpenters are done with it, Kumenya will transport it to his home in a special way\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>\u201cOnce the coffin is complete to my specifications, I will enter the coffin and it will be closed and I already have a boda boda that will ferry me while inside just to feel the journey,\u201d he says. \u201cWhen we reach at home, I have already paid people who will carry me to my already prepared grave and wheel me in and lock, as a rehearsal of how my funeral will go down.\u201d<br><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Kumenya, a retired teacher, says that copies of the eulogy he has already drafted will be given to mourners to read from home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>&#8221;&nbsp; I have written my life history because no one knows me better than I know myself,\u201d he said.<br><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>How Murang\u2019a man prepared resting place<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>His graveside is a single-roomed cavern near his house. He has planted colorful flowers around it which he says cost him nearly KSh100,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Karanja has left clear instructions on how he wants to be interred; no flowers, no cross, and he will not be expecting his remains to be covered with soil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The former teacher argues that this is not an extraordinary thing as everybody is bound to die and thus it is good to prepare for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And what exactly informed his drastic decision? Back in 1997 when his father died, he says, it rained heavily on the&nbsp;burial&nbsp;day and he was left to fill the grave with soil on his own after people ran to seek shelter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThat is what informed my decision. I decided to prepare my own grave so that people will not be troubled when I die.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Karanja\u2019s wife, Jane Wanjira, her husband built a small house, but did not disclose his intention until recently. She said her husband has lately become quite secretive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wanjira says Karanja does not wear a shirt all day, whether it is freezing cold or sweltering hot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>\u201cI feel he could be having a mental problems that prompt him to do such things,\u201d she says.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>She said the man who was a staunch follower of Salvation Army stopped going to church without giving any reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"432\" height=\"960\" src=\"http:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/FB_IMG_1625161382331.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-10637\" srcset=\"https:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/FB_IMG_1625161382331.jpg 432w, https:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/FB_IMG_1625161382331-135x300.jpg 135w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 432px) 100vw, 432px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Villagers now believe Karanja is courting his own death by making the grave since he is still in good health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>\u201cWe have never heard of such a thing. We are shocked to see someone preparing his own grave,\u201d says one of the residents<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"443\" height=\"960\" src=\"http:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/FB_IMG_1625161386485.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-10638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/FB_IMG_1625161386485.jpg 443w, https:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/FB_IMG_1625161386485-138x300.jpg 138w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 443px) 100vw, 443px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Murang\u2019a man who built a tomb for his burial and wrote his own eulogy at it again! Now has special coffin Who remembers Samuel Karanja aka Kumenya? The&nbsp;Murang\u2019a&nbsp;man who hit the headlines in January this year for digging his own grave and writing his eulogy?Well he is at it again. This time round, the 74-year-old &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":10635,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10631","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10631","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10631"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10631\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10640,"href":"https:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10631\/revisions\/10640"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10635"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10631"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10631"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10631"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}