Lover blocked from burying ‘wife’ over bride price
A hearse carrying a coffin packed at Kitengela Sub County Hospital mortuary on September 8, 2023. The deceased husband and his laws were embroiled in an unpaid dowry bride price.
There was drama at the Kitengela Sub County Hospital mortuary in Kajiado County on Friday, September 8, when a man fought with his in-laws over the body of his wife over unpaid bride price.
The bone of contention was the body of Agatha Khasandi Kulabi, 47, who died at Kajiado Referral Hospital on August 20 after a brief illness before her body was transferred to Kitengela Sub County Hospital on August 27 for preservation.
On Friday morning, Agatha's family, including her mother and children, arrived at the morgue with a coffin on a hearse to take the body to Kakamega County for burial scheduled for Saturday.
But they got a rude shock when Mr Nicholas Muranda, who lived with Agatha in Mlolongo Town, tried to block the release of the body.
In the letter seen by the Nation, Mr Muranda, through his lawyer, said there was a dispute between him and his in-laws over Agatha, claiming she was his wife, and had asked the mortuary to continue holding the body until the issue was resolved.
Mr Muranda was not physically at the morgue and his mobile phone went unanswered.
Dejected mourners sobbed in public and spent hours at the entrance to the morgue.
The morgue keepers kept the premises under lock and key as panic gripped the atmosphere.
Agatha's mother, Pamela Mbone, 70, who had travelled from Kakamega to bring the body of her second-born daughter for burial today, said the ‘husband’ had not paid the bride price to be allowed to bury Agatha.
"My daughter was involved with three men at different times, none of them had paid the bride price even though she bore children for them and the family decided to bury our daughter at her father's home in Kakamega," she said, sobbing.
She went on to say that the 'husband' had been throwing her around for the past three days, culminating in a scuffle that ended at Kitengela police station where charges of assault were laid against Agatha's sons.
Muranda was allegedly beaten up by the in-laws at Agatha's rented house in Mlolongo on Thursday night.
"He had promised to travel to our village to pay the bride price but changed his mind and refused to buy the coffin or dress the body," she said.
Mr Godfrey Okwiri, Agatha's son, told the Nation that the dispute had denied their mother a decent burial after the first burial date was postponed following a disagreement.
"My stepfather is frustrating us to bury our mother, we have received all the documents for the burial and all the arrangements have been made," he said in tears.
The family has vowed not to let their mother's lover bear the day, saying they will endure until they bury her at her father's home in Kakamega.
Agatha lived in Mlolongo and worked as a domestic helper before she fell ill, she lived with Muranda and they had one child. She had three other children from previous marriages.
Neighbours said the man was an on-and-off husband who lived in Lamu.
The hospital management advised the family to seek legal assistance before releasing the body.
