This archive report was first published on 18 July 2020.
On July 18, 2020, the funeral of Ohangala musician Maureen Achieng, also known as Lady Maureen, turned chaotic as hundreds of mourners ignored COVID-19 regulations to pay their last respects.
The body of Lady Maureen, who died on Saturday last week at her cousin's home in Uriri, was transferred to Ojele Hospital Mortuary in Migori before being taken to her home in Kopanga village for burial.
Despite the presence of police officers who had been deployed to the mortuary and the burial site, the public took control of the event, overwhelming the authorities.
As early as 5am, mourners started milling around the mortuary, and by 7am, the cortege left for Kopanga village, but the procession was diverted to Kopanga Primary School grounds, where the body was viewed for more than two hours.
A section of Lady Maureen's colleagues gave speeches before the body was transported to the home of her grandfather, where a short service was held before it was interred.
Unlike in traditional funerals, there were no speeches from family and relatives.
Earlier, plans to remove the body from the mortuary on Friday evening were aborted following speculation that authorities would force them to bury the musician at night.
