Montezuma Monalisa Funeral Home is a leading funeral services provider in Kenya, established in 1992 as a funeral transport company.
Over time, it evolved into a full-service, modern funeral home offering coffin manufacturing, mortuary services, funeral arrangements, repatriation, and exhumation.
The funeral home, founded and owned by Benjamin Kibiku, opened its first ultra-modern facility in Nairobi around 2007 on Mbagathi Way (now Raila Odinga Way).
About the Founder and Owner
Kibiku, who is the current CEO of Montezuma Monalisa Funeral Home, initially worked as a marketer for AIG Insurance Company in Nairobi.
In a past interview with The Standard, Kibiku said he identified a gap in funeral transport and mortuary services after a personal experience: following the 1982 attempted coup in Kenya, when he lost a friend and encountered challenges with body transport and mortuary handling.
This spurred his interest in the funeral services business.
In late 1988, Kibiku acquired a second-hand pick-up truck with KSh 70,000 via a SACCO loan, which he converted into a hearse.
He faced cultural resistance, difficulty finding parking, and stigma associated with the funeral business.
Benjamin Kibiku used creative marketing: attending burial meetings, offering transport, and distributing fliers.
In 1992, he resigned from his insurance job to concentrate fully on his funeral‑services enterprise.
Kibiku purchased prime land along Mbagathi Way (now Raila Odinga Way) in Nairobi, where construction for the modern funeral home began around 2004 and was completed by 2007.
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The Montezuma Funeral Services Limited (1992) and Monalisa Funeral Services Limited (2001) later combined to form the broader Montezuma Monalisa brand.
Montezuma Monalisa Branches, Services and Locations
The firm has been operating three major branches: Nairobi (headquarters), Thika Road (Kabati), and Machakos.
- Nairobi Branch- Opposite Armed Forces Memorial Hospital, Mbagathi Way (now often referred to as Raila Odinga Way), Nairobi. This branch can hold up to 100 bodies at a time.
- Thika Road Branch (Kabati)- Opposite Shell Petrol Station, Kabati (along Thika Road). It has a reported capacity of 50–60 bodies.
- Machakos Branch- Opposite Governor’s Office, Makutano – Kitui Road, Machakos. Being a smaller facility, its capacity is around 30–40 bodies.
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Recently, Montezuma Monalisa Funeral Home opened a new branch in Kisumu.
It offers a wide range of funeral services, including:
- Mortuary services (body preservation, embalming, cold-room storage with backup power)
- Hearse and transport services across Kenya and for repatriation overseas
- Custom coffin sales and manufacturing (various cost categories)
- Exhumation services (single/mass) and other ancillary funeral services (funeral insurance, wreaths)
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