All set for Kericho Deputy Governor Susan Kikwai's burial

Kericho Deputy Governor Susan Kikwai.

Kericho Deputy Governor Susan Kikwai.

Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group

What you need to know:

  • Services were paralysed at the county offices as employees took part in the preparations while others simply kept away.

Kericho Deputy Governor Susan Kikwai will be buried on Tuesday at her parents’ home in Tugunon village, Kipkelion West Constituency.

On Monday, three governors and more than 20 deputy governors confirmed they will attend the burial.

Kikwai, 60, succumbed to Covid-19 related complications at Siloam Hospital in Kericho town on Saturday after four days of treatment.

The body will be transported from the hospital’s mortuary to her rural home  at 9 am Tuesday for the final burial rites, according to the programme released on Monday evening.

Members of the Kericho County Assembly held prayers on Monday ahead of the burial.

“We have come here to pray for the family and the county since not all of us will make it to the burial due to Covid-19 containment measures set by the Ministry of Health,” Speaker Dominic Rono said, citing the more lethal third wave.

“There is a lot of laxity among the people when it comes to containment measures despite the high number of infections and deaths being reported. It is important that we do not lower our guard,” he said.

Susan Kikwai's office

Withering flowers are pictured in Kericho Deputy Governor Susan Kikwai's office on March 22, 2021.

Photo credit: Vitalis Kimutai | Nation Media Group

Preparations for the funeral were in high gear, with security and health officers visiting Kikwai’s home for inspections.

Services were paralysed at the county offices as employees took part in the preparations while others simply kept away.

People seeking services or visiting staff were turned away, especially at the county headquarters.

County Secretary Joel Bett led the planning committee in putting in fine-tuning the funeral programme at the deputy governor’s residence at Chagaik on the outskirts of Kericho town.