This archive report was first published on 20 May 2020.
On May 20, 2020, a somber ceremony took place in Mukhweya village, Kabuchai constituency, Bungoma County, as Antony Waswa, the younger brother of Bungoma Senator Moses Wetang'ula and Westlands MP Tim Wanyonyi, was laid to rest.
Waswa, 48, had been the personal assistant to Wanyonyi for the past seven years. He died at the Aga Khan Hospital in Nairobi, where he had been admitted for a week.
Due to Covid-19 fears, the family was allowed to invite only 60 people to the burial, with seats spaced 2.5 meters apart. The family compound was surrounded by police officers who ensured that only those on the family's list could enter.
Senator Wetang'ula and MP Wanyonyi received the body from a helicopter that had brought it from Nairobi. The chopper was then fumigated before taking off.
However, about 10 senators who had planned to attend the burial were unable to do so because their chopper was denied permission to take off from Wilson Airport by the Government.
Wanyonyi dismissed claims that his brother's death was related to Covid-19, stating that even the family was unaware of the cause of death. He also explained that the family had chosen to bury Waswa quickly, in line with the Government's directive to bury the dead within 48 hours.
Wetang'ula, who had learned of his brother's illness while attending the burial of Tecra Karanja in Naivasha, said he had advised Wanyonyi to take Waswa to the hospital. He also thanked President Uhuru Kenyatta for providing the family with a chopper to transport Waswa's remains to Bungoma.
