This archive report was first published on 7 November 2021.
Published on November 7, 2021, a court in Texas, USA, will convene 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 between her father and her cohabiting partner.
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 and the handling of her remains.
Mr Kinara secretly buried Dorothy without involving her parents, who live in the same Tarrant County, Texas. In an order seen by Nation.Africa, Tarrant County Judge Brooke Allen directed the parties to present their submissions, disclose their witnesses and expert authority before the matter is determined.
“On September 10, 2021, the Court of Appeals, Send Appellate District of Texas at Fort Worth denied the petition for writ of mandamus. No other appellate documents were filed,” read the order from the court.
The scheduled hearing will determine the next of kin who will be given rights of handling the body from exhumation to the post-mortem and finally second burial. Although Mr Kinara claims he was married to the deceased, Mr Ong'era has disputed this stating his daughter was only cohabiting with Kinara and that no legal marriage ever took place between the two.
