This archive report was first published on 14 November 2019.
On November 13, 2019, a family in Magumu, Kinangop, Nyandarua County, made headlines after they buried a kin three days before the scheduled burial date.
The hurried burial of 34-year-old Walter Makumi, who died due to kidney complications, was met with resistance from some family members and villagers who had agreed on November 16 as the burial day.
According to witnesses, the burial took place in the early hours of Wednesday without the knowledge of Makumi's wife, Jane Wanjiru Makumi, who worked as a technician at Kihara Hospital in Kiambu.
Wanjiru, who was not informed about the burial, claimed that trouble started when her husband's relatives twice shifted the body from the mortuary without consulting her.
She alleged that the move was meant to lock her out of her husband's properties, which his relatives wanted to take over.
“We have been married for eight years and have two boys, but I have been locked out of the burial arrangements as they are after my husband's properties,” Wanjiru said.
Magumu Location Chief Ng’ang’a Njuguna stated that the family had a legal burial permit, which made it difficult for them to intervene in the situation.
