This archive report was first published on 7 November 2021.
Published on November 7, 2021, a court in Texas, USA, will convene this week to determine the next of kin who will handle the remains of Dorothy Ong'era, a Kenyan woman whose death has sparked a protracted court battle.
Ms Ong'era, a mother of six, died on December 17, 2020, in circumstances that remain mysterious. Her father, David Ong'era, is locked in a vicious court battle with Mr Obadiah Kinara, the man she cohabited with, over the cause of her death.
Mr Kinara secretly buried Dorothy without involving her parents, who live in the same Tarrant County, Texas. Mr Ong'era has resisted demands for the exhumation of his daughter's body for a post-mortem to determine the cause of her death.
Mr Kinara claims he was married to the deceased, but Mr Ong'era disputes this, stating his daughter was only cohabiting with Kinara and that no legal marriage ever took place between the two.
Ms Ong'era's body was found in a bathtub, and her death has become a matter of significant interest among Kenyan immigrants in the US who have watched in awe as the two families lock horns in court over a simple issue that should have been solved amicably.
