This archive report was first published on 13 June 2020.
On Saturday morning, hundreds of mourners gathered at Abeny Jachiga's home in Kolwa East, Chiga Sub-Location, Kisumu East Constituency, only to be met with an unexpected obstacle: Abeny's mother, Monica Auma, and widow, Belinda Aluoch, sitting on his grave.
The mourners had arrived to exhume Jachiga's body, protesting against his night burial, which they claimed went against Luo traditions. According to these traditions, only those who die by suicide are buried in the dead of night.
However, Jachiga's family disputed this claim, stating that he died after a short illness, not by suicide. “Jachiga did not commit suicide, he died after a short illness. We want to exhume his body and give him a decent send-off that befits his stature,” one of the mourners was heard saying.
Out of respect for Jachiga's elderly mother, the mourners watched as Auma and Aluoch sat on the grave, refusing to budge. “You want to kill me! Don't exhume my son's body,” Auma said, looking straight into the mourners' eyes.
Despite the tension, the mourners remained calm, with one of them saying, “Once they (Auma and Aluoch) rise from the grave, we will dig the burial pit out.”
Abeny Jachiga, who allegedly succumbed to pneumonia on Thursday, June 11, was buried at 1:30am on Saturday, after hours of impasse between the mourners' demands and the County Government of Kisumu's directives on burials.
