This archive report was first published on 4 August 2019.
On Saturday, a dramatic scene unfolded in God Miaha village, Rachuonyo East, when a man believed to be dead, Kennedy Ogweno, 38, appeared at his own burial ceremony.
Ogweno had not been seen by his family for 20 years and had told them he worked as a fisherman along the beaches of Lake Victoria. However, a month ago, his relatives received information that he had died in Mbita town after falling sick.
His family then went to the Homa Bay County Referral Hospital mortuary, identified the body, and registered their details as next of kin. They returned home and scheduled his burial for Saturday.
On Friday, they went to the mortuary, retrieved the body, and took it home. But just an hour before the burial, Ogweno appeared and started greeting the mourners, causing confusion.
Residents ran away from the homestead, mistaking Ogweno for a ghost. His efforts to convince the mourners that he was still alive fell on deaf ears.
Chief Joseph Ndege stated that Ogweno's appearance deterred people from eating the food the family had prepared for mourners. “A lot of food had been cooked for mourners but many people did not eat upon Ogweno’s appearance. Even those who had begun eating had to stop and run away from the home,” Mr Ndege said.
It was only by coincidence that Judith Atieno, Ogweno's sister-in-law, met him on a beach in Rachuonyo as they were making funeral arrangements. “I had gone to visit my aunt at Alum beach and I found him. I told family members in Ramba on phone not to bury the body before they could confirm whether the man I had met was Ogweno,” Atieno said.
The body that the family was preparing to bury was taken back to the mortuary.
