This archive report was first published on 31 July 2019.
Ken Okoth's Family Divided Over Cremation or Burial ¶
Published on July 31, 2019
Ken Okoth, the late Kibra MP, left behind a family divided over his final resting place. His mother, Angelina, is opposed to cremation, while his European wife, Monica, is pushing for it.
Okoth succumbed to late-diagnosed colorectal cancer on July 26, 2019, at the Nairobi Hospital. His mother, Angelina, has vowed not to accompany the body back to Nairobi for cremation after final service in Kasewe, Homa Bay county.
The family's disagreement over Okoth's burial arrangements has sparked memories of the 1986 struggle over the body of prominent city lawyer SM Otieno. Okoth's paternal family wants to bury him next to his father, who was interred at Kanyachir Amocho village, Kochia, Rangwe subcounty, in 1993.
Okoth's mother built a home in her native Kasewe after separating from her husband, Nicholas Obonyo, in the late 1980s. In Luo culture, when the dowry is taken back to the man's family, it means marriage is dissolved.
Okoth's father died in 1993, and his paternal family wants him to be buried next to him. However, Okoth's mother wants him to be buried in Kasewe, where she now resides.
The family's disagreement over Okoth's burial arrangements has thrown burial arrangements into disarray. Okoth's elder brother, who resides in the US, is supporting cremation, while one of his brothers and a sister are opposing it.
Okoth's stepbrother, Alfred Omondi, has appealed for the body to be buried in Kochia. He claimed they have unsuccessfully attempted to reach the MP's maternal family over the burial arrangements.
The family says Okoth was a grandson of a paramount chief known only as Obonyo, who served for 50 years during the colonial era. The chief had a polygamous family with many children, among them Okoth's father.
