This archive report was first published on 13 June 2020.
On June 12, 2020, the burial of popular Ohangla musician Abenny Jachinga was marred by chaos in Kisumu, Kenya, after locals resisted the authorities' insistence on burying him within 48 hours.
The family of the deceased musician accused the county government of Kisumu of forcing them to bury their kin without justification, citing that he died of pneumonia, not COVID-19.
More than 1,000 mourners had gathered for the burial, but the scene turned violent when youths pelted police officers with stones, prompting the officers to deploy teargas.
According to Austin Omondi, a brother to the deceased, heavily armed police officers knocked on his house at 1 am and ordered him to accompany them to the mortuary to identify the body, which was then taken back and buried at 2 am.
The family's accusations have sparked outrage, with locals pointing out that others who had lost their kin had not been forced to bury them within 48 hours, with some still having bodies in the mortuary.
Mourners were teargassed during the aborted burial of popular Ohangla musician Abenny Jachinga in Kisumu.
