This archive report was first published on 8 July 2020.
On July 8, 2020, a family in Meru, Kenya, faced a unique challenge when burying their patriarch, Zakayo Migwi, who had lived a life of polygamy with 34 wives, 150 children, and over 200 grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
According to relatives, Migwi died just five months shy of his 99th birthday, leaving behind a large family that struggled to adhere to the government's Covid-19 regulations and protocols.
As a result, the police watched as the burial ceremony took place, surpassing the stipulated number of attendees. The ceremony was attended by close family members, but it raised curiosity among the villagers in the sleepy village of Mwiriene in Igembe North, Meru.
Isaiah Migwi, the deceased's 62-year-old son, said that only 36 of his siblings attended the burial, along with four wives and 300 grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He lamented that many friends and extended family members were unable to attend due to the challenges of traveling during the pandemic.
Migwi was buried at the home of his son Joseph Migwi, 60, his fifth-born child. The family acknowledged that there had been other wives who separated from the patriarch and had gone their separate ways.
One of Migwi's wives, Mary Kambura, attributed his good health to a strict diet, which included mashed bananas, potatoes, yams, and millet porridge. However, he died a bitter man, as he had no pension despite opening up many roads in the region.
As reported in a past interview with The Nairobian, Migwi said, 'I worked to clear all this area and opened new roads before they were tarmacked in recent years. But I did not receive a single cent as pension, yet it is my right.'
