This archive report was first published on 10 July 2021.
Published on July 10, 2021, a peculiar burial incident took place in Kipkenyo, Uasin Gishu county, where a 77-year-old man, Paul Chemng'ok, was laid to rest without a coffin.
His body was covered with a cowhide, as per his wishes, which he had written in a will before his death on Sunday.
Chemng'ok's younger brother, Serem Kispsaina, explained that the family adhered strictly to the old man's wishes, including no eulogies and no preaching at the burial.
“Before he died on Sunday, he reminded us of how he wanted to be buried. He insisted that there should be no eulogies at the burial, no preaching and that his body be covered with the hide of the bull that would be slaughtered after his death. He wrote all this in a will, and we did exactly as he wished,” Serem said.
Chemng'ok, born in 1944, grew up in Senetwet village, Nandi County, and was known to be a non-believer in any organized religion.
However, the burial was conducted in accordance with Nandi cultural burial rights, with the old man facing east and his head facing his right-hand side.
