This archive report was first published on 8 August 2020.
UoN Lecturer Ken Ouko's Burial Marred by Covid-19 Controversy ¶
The burial of University of Nairobi lecturer Ken Ouko on August 7, 2020, was a somber affair, marred by controversy and hitches due to his Covid-19 status.
According to Dr. Sam Ouko, the Chief Pharmacist at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri) and the deceased's uncle, the family faced stigmatisation due to the Covid-19 status of the lecturer, who had passed away.
Dr. Ouko revealed that it took his intervention for Mrs. Grace Ouko, the widow of the lecturer, to be allowed to bury her husband, citing that the Homa Bay County Covid-19 emergency response team had failed to follow stipulated regulations and had attempted to deny the family an opportunity to bury the renowned sociology lecturer.
Speaking at the burial ceremony at the family's home in Nyandiwa, Homa Bay County, Dr. Ouko stated, 'In line with government restrictions on how to bury Covid-19 victims, we encountered many difficulties in having the body buried after 48 hours and ensuring his widow and children gave their loved one a befitting send off.'
The burial was marked by the heavy presence of police, who manned the compound as villagers followed proceedings through the fence. The cortege was seven hours late following clearance hitches at the hospital, and the body remained in the hearse for the estimated one hour and 45 minutes that the ceremony took.
As with all Covid-19 cases, residents were not allowed to view the body as the county emergency response team took charge of the burial. Mrs. Ouko and two of their four children initially tested positive for the virus but were later found negative.
Mr. Ouko's father, 89-year-old Caleb Ouko, blamed the confusion ahead of his burial on conflicting information from Homa Bay County officials, stating, 'At one time we were told it was risky for the family to visit the home while the next time they said it was ok.'
Mr. Ouko's widow, Grace Ouko, described him as caring, loving, and prayerful, saying, 'For the 30 years we were married, Ken treated us with dignity and pride.'
Regarding his illness, she said he was being treated for a bacterial infection but it persisted, hence the coronavirus test.
She also shared that during his time at the isolation centre at Aga Khan hospital, he asked for his laptop so he could do some work, and that the situation worsened in the second week when he was put in the ICU and on ventilation machines.
