This archive report was first published on 4 August 2019.
On August 4, 2019, the nation was shocked by the passing of Kibra's Ken Okoth, a hardworking MP and inspirational leader. However, his death was soon followed by a series of ugly dramas that erupted in the public sphere.
As is often the case, disputes over the choice of burial place, obscure spouses emerging from the woodwork, and fights over property and inheritance soon became the focus of attention. It is unseemly that such family quarrels broke out after Okoth's death, especially given his meticulous planning for his departure from the time he knew he was dying from cancer.
The contrast with the concurrent, trouble-free funeral ceremonies for Bomet Governor Joyce Laboso could not have been starker. Former Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka's observation at Okoth's memorial service that our courts should learn to be circumspect and avoid wading into every controversy, more so family issues, is a timely reminder.
Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko introduced a fresh twist about a love relationship between Okoth and a woman called Anne Thumbi, who had a son named Jayden Baraka. Sonko's disclosure at a public memorial for Okoth attended by his Kibra constituents at the Nairobi Girls School sparked a public debate about the recognition of Jayden as Okoth's biological son.
However, the forum in which Sonko raised the issue was problematic, especially when uttered carelessly in front of the legal wife. It's not his responsibility to sort out family dysfunctions that are not his. The matter was eventually taken to court, where a magistrate granted Ms Thumbi an injunction stopping the burial or cremation of the late MP until a court case on the matter of Jayden's paternity was heard and determined.
Fortunately, all's well that ends well. On Friday, the court lifted the order barring the cremation after a consent agreement was entered by the feuding parties. It was also agreed that DNA samples be taken to prove Jayden's paternity, and that the boy be fully involved in the funeral ceremonies. The private cremation took place Saturday in Nairobi, as per Okoth's wish.
