This archive report was first published on 2 August 2019.
On August 2, 2019, a court in Nairobi issued a temporary injunction to stop the burial of Kibra MP Ken Okoth. The order was made by Senior Principal Magistrate GA Mmasi following an application by Ann Muthoni Thumbi, who claimed that Okoth was the biological father of her four-year-old son.
Thumbi alleged that Okoth's widow, Monica Okoth, and his mother, Angelina Ajwang, had refused to recognize her son and had stopped them from participating in the funeral programme. She claimed that this denial of rights was causing her son serious emotional distress and could lead to long-term psychological damage.
Thumbi swore in court papers that she had been in a relationship with Okoth in 2013, resulting in the birth of her son in 2015. She claimed that Okoth had acknowledged his son and had provided for both of them until his health started failing.
Thumbi's lawyer, Elkana Mogaka, argued that cremating Okoth's remains would destroy any evidence that could be used for a DNA test to ascertain the child's paternity. The court's order stops Okoth's mother and widow from burying or cremating the body pending the determination of the case.
