Popular Nigerian Designer in Magoha's Funeral Ritual Explains Its Significance

A group of Nigerian cultural practitioners on Wednesday, February 8, took Nairobi’s Central Business District by storm. 

Leading the late Professor George Magoha’s funeral procession, was one Paulina George who redefined how to mourn the dead in a country where mourners are often wailing as a mark of grief and honour to the dead. 

In a colourful Igbo funeral procession Paulina, together with the late Prof Magoha’s widow Dr Barbara, staged a rare entry into Kenya’s capital. 

However, Paulina explained that friends and relatives of the dead do not always have to be wailing and groaning when one dies. 

Igbo masquerades during the funeral procession of the late Professor George Magoha on Wednesday, February 8, 2023.

Citizen Digital

“In Nigeria, we don’t mourn an achiever by crying, we have to go with a bang,” says Paulina George, a popular fashion designer based in Nairobi, during the funeral procession in honour of the late Prof Magoha. 

Largely known as Southeastern Nigeria, Igboland is the homeland of some of the most interesting cultures and traditions. 

Igboland is the hotbed of cultures and traditions that emanate from the lower Niger River, which combines both the eastern and western sides of Nigeria. 

Natively referred to as Ndi Igbo, Professor Magoha’s wife, Dr Barbara’s relatives come from a region that is well-known for its enterprising, independent and adventurous people. 

During the procession, the Igbo tribe’s people treated their Kenyan relatives to a variety of food, dance, music, musical instruments, festival and culture.

Pauline explained that the burial process for a member of the Igbo group comes in two parts, to which, the deceased’s relatives are first subjected to a short mourning period. 

The second phase of mourning is a ceremony where the physical body or a simulacrum is transported from one location to the other in a procession that is laced with some dose of music and dance. 

In Nairobi, Professor George Magoha’s body was accompanied by Igbo’s Mmanwu, a traditional masquerade group that entertained people in the streets of Nairobi. 

While the group of masquerades was only made up of male dances, Paulina and Barbara were the mourners who donned colourful costumes that are meant to invoke other dimensions of celebration.

Away from funeral and cultural activities, Pauline is well-known to Kenya’s fashion industry, having lived and done business in Nairobi for years. 

According to Nairobi Fashion Hub, Paulina George Fashion Design is one of the top ten most known and well-doing fashion businesses in Kenya. 

Wife to the late Professor George Magoha, Dr Barbara Magoha, smiling and waving to people during funeral procession in Nairobi on Wednesday, February 8, 2023.

Citizen Digital