Buried by WhatsApp: How digital harambees changed Kenya's fundraising culture

Fundraising has long been the tie that binds families and friends together during funerals, weddings and times of need, including when raising money for education and medical bills.

The familiar funeral and wedding committee meetings, once a fixture in Nairobi’s restaurants, church halls and village compounds, are disappearing into smartphone screens.

There was a time when news of a death or an impending wedding meant a visit to a relative or an announcement that would set in motion a familiar social ritual: the formation of a committee.

In Nairobi, members would make their way to established meeting points such as Garden Square, Simmers and Green Corner restaurants in the Central Business District (CBD), and Nairobi Cinema.

Others preferred church halls, such as Holy Family Basilica, All Saints Cathedral and St Stephen’s Church along Jogoo Road, as well as other popular social establishments. In the villages, meetings could take place beneath a tree, in a family compound or at a neighbour’s homestead.

People travelled, sometimes from considerable distances, to sit together, discuss the matter at hand, agree on responsibilities and determine how much each person could contribute. There were minutes to be taken, budgets to be discussed and tasks to be allocated, with tea, soft drinks and sometimes a meal accompanying the deliberations.

Shared responsibilities

Kenneth Adiara, the General Superintendent of the Pentecostal Assemblies of God Kenya, notes that the traditional committee system was deeply embedded in Kenya’s culture of collective responsibility. “When a family lost a loved one, relatives and friends came together to plan how the deceased would be transported, where the burial would take place, how many people were expected, what food would be prepared and how the financial burden would be shared,” he says.

He adds that committees were often formed months before an event, with different teams assigned responsibilities ranging from fundraising to procuring service providers.

Bishop Peter Barasa, who has attended several such meetings in Nairobi, remembers the former Garden Square, situated along City Hall Way near the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC), as synonymous with funeral and wedding fundraising meetings.

“It was not unusual to find several committees occupying different sections of the restaurant, each discussing its own family affair,” he recalls.

The place was a hive of activity, particularly during evenings and weekends. The restaurant had divided its premises into spaces that could accommodate as many as 25 different groups, each paying to secure a meeting venue. This was a business model built around the country’s culture of collective fundraising.

Other establishments, including Magomano Hotel along Tom Mboya Street, Nairobi Railway Golf Club and KICC, also hosted fundraising gatherings.

Esther Kwamboka emphasises the importance of these establishments, which offered predictable meeting points where people could mobilise support, network and earn a living.

“We held most of the meetings there because it was affordable and convenient for everyone,” she says.

Armstrong Kasuku, the proprietor of Garden Square, which he had operated since the 1970s, said hundreds of bereaved families and people organising harambees used to visit the establishment. By midday, he said, there would sometimes be no space left for other groups.

A former employee said the restaurant could collect between Sh100,000 and Sh250,000 or more daily from these activities, depending on demand.

For decades, the establishment was among Nairobi’s best-known meeting places for funeral arrangements and harambees before the iconic restaurant shut its doors in June 2023.

John Nderitu, the manager of Magomano Hotel, recalls that fundraising groups once made the establishment a busy business. However, the meetings have since ground to a halt following government restrictions.

The establishment, which previously hosted fundraising groups and offered food, drinks and accommodation, is now a pale shadow of its former self.

For those working in these establishments, the meetings provided an informal but important economic lifeline.

Lost networks

Dickson Luvaga, a newspaper vendor in Nairobi’s CBD, offers an interesting perspective: funeral planning committees created opportunities for people who had no formal employment.

Photographers, printers, decorators, caterers and event planners could identify potential customers simply by interacting with people attending the meetings.

According to Luvaga, the disappearance of these physical gatherings has consequently affected people whose businesses thrived whenever there was a wedding or the Grim Reaper struck.

“People bought newspapers partly to establish where and when funeral or wedding committee meetings were taking place. Vendors and service providers would then attend those meetings to look for potential customers,” he says.

Anne Awinja, from Kibra, recalls with nostalgia how physical gatherings created social opportunities that are difficult to replicate through technology.

“We could meet and make new friends through such gatherings. People were expanding their social networks, strengthening friendships and sometimes finding lifelong partners,” she says.

However, for some people living outside the venues, attending meetings was an expensive and exhausting undertaking. They had to travel into town, spending several hours in meetings, which placed a heavy burden on those juggling employment, family responsibilities and multiple committee obligations.

Stephen Ouma recalls that some people attended funeral meetings not necessarily to offer assistance but to prey on mourners. “People knew that meetings were held in particular joints in town and would make their way to those meetings,” he says.

According to Ouma, some people would even ambush mourners travelling with bodies over long distances, robbing them along the way.

“On several occasions, people would be ambushed along highways in Molo, robbed of their luggage and even have the coffin taken away,” he says.

This forced many mourners to change their travel schedules, opting to travel during the day rather than at night.

WhatsApp takeover

WhatsApp groups have now become virtual committee rooms where people communicate, deliberate and contribute without physically assembling.

The administrators introduce the family, announce the fundraising target, identify the treasurer and provide the M-Pesa number. A programme of activities is circulated, and members begin sending their contributions.

“Good evening, members. It is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing of our brother. We have opened this group to coordinate funeral arrangements and contributions. Kindly welcome our members.”

Such are the messages posted in many WhatsApp groups, where some members are added without prior consultation.

Nairobi pharmacist Bernard Ochieng discovered that he had been added to a funeral fundraising group following the death of a former schoolmate. “I felt there was a lack of courtesy in adding me to a group of strangers,” he says.

Although technology has made it easier to mobilise people, it has also allowed WhatsApp administrators to impose obligations on individuals who may have little connection to the cause.

However, for families with relatives scattered across different towns and even in the diaspora, this has been transformative, as they can participate in funeral committees without travelling to Nairobi for meetings.

“A family announces a death, someone creates a WhatsApp group, administrators add relatives, friends, former schoolmates, workmates and acquaintances, and within minutes a fundraising committee is operational,” says Anthony Mudekere, highlighting how technology has made planning easier.

WhatsApp also allows extended families to remain connected despite geographical separation. There is a practical advantage for people with disabilities, older relatives and those working under demanding schedules.

Interestingly, WhatsApp has also created opportunities for community organisations that might never have emerged under the traditional committee arrangement.

A good example is the Choristers Welfare Association WhatsApp group, which was formed in 2020 to help organise a funeral.

The group brought together singers from across the country to bid farewell to a fellow member during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Instead of disbanding after the funeral, however, members decided to maintain their connections and explore other ways of supporting one another.

It subsequently evolved into a welfare group, with ambitions extending beyond funeral arrangements to improving members’ livelihoods and promoting education in the Lower Eastern region.

Its chairman, Philip Gavuna, explains that members realised they were repeatedly meeting the same people in different funeral committees.

“We realised that the same people were once put in these groups, but disbanded after they had lived up to their mandate,” he says.

He adds that the group has focused on improving the lives of its members and the wider community through permanent networks for social development, professional networking, savings, mentorship and community support.

The 2025 World Giving Report, produced by the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) in partnership with the Kenya Community Development Foundation (KCDF), found that 86 per cent of Kenyans gave money in 2024.

The report established that 21 per cent of Kenyan givers donated 12 or more times during the year, compared with 17 per cent across Africa and 13 per cent globally.

It further found that 61 per cent of Kenyans would be encouraged to give more if they had better information about the results and impact of their donations.

“Kenyans remain willing to support one another, but the frequency of fundraising appeals has created a new challenge: donor fatigue,” says economist Kamau Thuo, adding that an individual can belong to several groups at the same time, each demanding financial support.

The problem is particularly noticeable in urban centres, where people often belong to overlapping networks of former schoolmates, colleagues, relatives, neighbours and workmates.

“One group is raising money for a funeral, another for a wedding, another for a hospital bill, while a fourth is organising a school fees fundraiser,” notes Kamau.

Growing burden

Anthropologist and researcher Sibel Kusimba describes how frequent requests through SMS and WhatsApp can become burdensome, even for people who value community giving.

John Makhanu, an elder from Malava, says the groups are progressively eroding traditions associated with death and burials.

“Since most things are planned online, there is no room for consultation between the youth and the elderly on traditions surrounding marriage and death. This has led to many challenges in handling incest and taboos,” he says.

On WhatsApp, trust is often established through profile pictures, telephone numbers, forwarded messages and familiarity with people whose identities may not have been independently verified.

“Unfortunately, some people are abusing fundraising groups to solicit funds from unsuspecting contributors. For example, they initiate a group to support a hospital bill but continue operating it afterwards,” laments Kelvin Mutua, a church leader in Machakos.

Another danger is that fraudsters impersonate administrators, circulate altered payment instructions or create parallel fundraising groups without the family’s knowledge.

While WhatsApp has made fundraising faster, cheaper and more inclusive, it has also disrupted livelihoods, weakened some social bonds and created new opportunities for fraud.

For some Kenyans, the change represents liberation; for others, it marks the death of valued practices and traditions, particularly in rural communities where physical gatherings reinforced family and communal ties.

THE RISE AND FALL OF HARAMBEE COMMITTEES

Then: Families and friends met physically to plan funerals, weddings, education and medical fundraisers.

Meeting culture: Committees gathered in restaurants, church halls, family compounds and village homesteads.

Popular Nairobi venues: Garden Square, Simmers, Green Corner, Magomano Hotel and Nairobi Cinema.

Economic opportunities: Photographers, printers, caterers, decorators, newspaper vendors and event planners benefited from physical meetings.

Now: WhatsApp groups have replaced traditional committee meetings, allowing members to contribute remotely through M-Pesa.

New opportunities: Some fundraising groups have evolved into permanent welfare associations supporting members beyond funerals.

New risks: Fraudsters exploit WhatsApp groups through impersonation, fake appeals and altered M-Pesa payment instructions.

The downside: Donor fatigue, unsolicited group additions, fraud and declining face-to-face social interactions.

Lost business: Garden Square reportedly collected between Sh100,000 and Sh250,000 daily from fundraising activities. It closed its doors in June 2023,

Giving culture: 86 per cent of Kenyans donated money in 2024, according to the 2025 World Giving Report.