This archive report was first published on 31 July 2019.
On May 25, 2019, Henry Macharia Wairia, the husband of one of the victims of the Ethiopian Airlines crash, wrote to the Foreign Affairs Ministry requesting a death certificate for his wife.
However, despite his repeated requests, the ministry has refused to issue the certificate, citing an unspecified reason.
Wairia's lawyer, Irungu Kangata, has now filed a lawsuit against the ministry, arguing that the death certificate is essential for Wairia to pursue compensation for his wife's death.
According to court papers, the state's failure to provide the death certificate has arbitrarily denied Wairia his right to access information necessary for the exercise or protection of his rights and fundamental freedoms.
Wairia has also sued the Boeing Company for damages arising from the accident that killed his wife, Julia Mwashi Ingasiana, in March this year.
He has produced a marriage certificate as an annexure to prove that the deceased was his wife.
