This archive report was first published on 3 August 2019.
Ken Okoth's family has reached a compromise on his burial plans, settling on Kericho County as the place where the late Kibra MP will be cremated. The decision was made after a night of reconciliation talks hosted by former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, which cleared the way for the interment of the legislator who succumbed to cancer on Friday last week.
Earlier, a court injunction obtained by Anne Muthoni Thumbi, a woman who claims to have a child with the MP, had thrown the interment plans into disarray. However, the two parties reached a compromise, agreeing to DNA sampling of Okoth's and his alleged child by Ms Thumbi.
According to lawyer Edwin Sifuna, the decision to have the body cremated today was made to avoid unnecessary delay and to keep to the wishes of the deceased. 'Ken's body will be cremated tomorrow. There will be no function in Homa Bay and we have told the area MP and Governor about the cancellation,' Sifuna told the media at the Lee Funeral Home.
The compromise was reached after a court order was filed to offset the earlier order, which had directed that the disposal of the body be suspended until August 9 when the case would proceed. The two lawyers later turned up at Lee Funeral Home to oversee collection of DNA samples from Okoth's body ahead of interment today.
Today's event is expected to be low key and will only be attended by close family members and few invited friends. Kericho has a crematorium in the outskirts of the town.
