This archive report was first published on 2 July 2020.
On May 24, 2020, Faith Mwende, the wife of Charles Mwenda, passed away due to cancer. Her husband, who had been cleared to travel from Malindi in Kilifi County to Meru County for the burial, was left stranded with her body after being stopped by the Meru County Covid-19 surveillance team.
According to a constitutional petition filed at the High Court in Meru, Mr. Mwenda was forced to spend a night outside Kianjai Police Station with his wife's body in a casket. He alleges that his rights and freedoms under the Bill of Rights were violated, and he is seeking compensation from the State.
Mr. Mwenda recounts how he, together with 31 other mourners, had been cleared to travel but were stopped at Keeria market in Meru County. The mourners, including his two children, were ordered to return to Malindi, while being threatened to be subjected to forced quarantine at their own cost.
He was then taken to Kianjai Police Station where he was forced to spend the night, despite pleading with the police to be allowed to transport the casket to his home, which is only five kilometers away. As the night grew, rains pounded the area, leaving him and the casket soaked.
“Police left me alone in the rain. I dragged the casket all alone and sheltered it under a lorry which was parked near Kianjai Police Post. Stagnant water entered the casket,” Mr. Mwenda claims in his affidavit.
He is seeking general and punitive damages against the State, and has enjoined the Law Society of Kenya, the Independent Policing Oversight Authority, and the Kenya National Commission of Human Rights as interested parties. The matter will be mentioned on July 6, 2020, for further directions.
