When the family of Joab Otieno learnt of his death at Kombewa Sub-County Hospital in Kisumu last week, their thoughts turned, as tradition demands, to home. Plans were swiftly set in motion to ferry their son’s body to Homa Bay, where he would be laid to rest within his parents’ compound in Ndhiwa.
Mr Otieno had died after a short illness while receiving treatment at the hospital. At the time of his passing, he lived in Kisumu town, earning his livelihood as a contractor.
But even as his relatives prepared to gather in Ndhiwa to organise his final journey, another, unseen plan was quietly unfolding. A different family in Kisumu County was making its own burial arrangements – this time for a final resting place in Seme.
In a turn that has left his parents bewildered and distressed, that second plan prevailed. Mr Otieno was buried without their knowledge or participation, a reality they struggle to comprehend.
It later emerged that the burial had been conducted by a woman identified as Jenipher Nundu, at Rata Village in Kakelo Centre, Seme, Kisumu County.
Now, Mr Otieno’s mother, Monica Auma, is seeking to have her son’s body exhumed and reinterred afresh in Ndhiwa, in accordance with Luo customs and traditions. She insists she neither consented to nor was informed of the burial away from her home.
Exhumation order
Through her lawyer, Albert Ongoso, the family moved to court, demanding the return of their son’s body. The court granted their request in part, ordering that the remains be exhumed and returned to the mortuary pending the hearing and determination of the case.
Ndhiwa Principal Magistrate Phylis Lusiah directed authorities in Seme, led by the Officer Commanding Station (OCS) at Kombewa Police Station and the assistant chief of Kakelo Sub-location, to supervise the exercise.
“Upon exhumation of the late Joab Otieno, the body… shall be secured, transported and preserved at Ndhiwa Sub County Hospital mortuary pending the hearing and determination of this suit,” read part of the court order.
The directive further instructed the OCS Kombewa Police Station to provide adequate security to ensure compliance and prevent any breach of peace during the exercise.
Ms Nundu was expressly barred from interfering in any way with the exhumation, transportation, or preservation of the body.
Right to bury
In an affidavit, Ms Auma, a resident of Koogo Komolo Village in South Kanyamwa Location, asserted that as a parent she holds the primary and overriding right to determine the place of her son’s burial.
She stated that her 35-year-old son died on April 14 and was buried without her knowledge.
“His remains were preserved at the facility before the defendant clandestinely and maliciously, on April 20 at 11:00, carted away the body without my knowledge and hurriedly buried him at Kakelo Village, Rata Centre, Seme, against my consent,” she deposed.
Upon learning that burial plans were being made elsewhere, the family sought an injunction to halt any such arrangements. The court issued orders restraining Ms Nundu from proceeding with the burial and directing that the body remain at Seme Sub County Hospital mortuary.
However, Ms Auma claims the defendant, aware that she had gone to court to obtain an injunction, acted swiftly to remove the body and conduct the burial.
“The defendant had full knowledge of the impending court orders… and thus pulled a fast one on me before I could serve her,” she stated.
According to her, the burial was carried out secretly, hastily and in bad faith, in a bid to undermine the authority of the court.
“The defendant’s conduct amounts to gross contempt of court and an abuse of the judicial process. I have been unlawfully deprived of my right as a mother to bury my son at his rightful ancestral home in Ndhiwa Koga. The continued existence of the burial legitimises disobedience of court orders and undermines public confidence in the administration of justice,” she said.
The court subsequently issued a further order directing that the body be exhumed as the matter proceeds.
Ms Auma has expressed her willingness to meet the full cost of the exhumation exercise. The family plans to travel to Seme on Friday to retrieve the body and return it to Ndhiwa.
Mr Otieno’s father, Joseph Nyadiero, welcomed the court’s intervention.
“I am happy with the court’s direction. It is my desire, as the head of the family, to bury my son in my homestead in line with our culture,” he said.
He added that he did not know Ms Nundu or understand what compelled her to bury his son.
“She is not my relative, and I do not know her. What I want is the body of my son,” he said.
Mr Ongoso has appealed to local leaders to support the family in meeting the costs of exhumation and transporting the body from Kisumu to Ndhiwa.
