After five years, Mzee Abuga remains finally buried

The remains of Mzee Oribo Abuga, from Iranya village in Nyaribari Masaba constituency, Kisii County, who died five years ago, have finally been interred.

The body had been at the Nyamache Hospital mortuary all this while because a court injunction had barred his burial at his ancestral home.

But Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr Fred Matiang'i intervened in the matter last Wednesday and the funeral for the old man took place on Monday morning.

He was buried on the same day as his 11-year-old grandson, Dancan Maisiba, who died about two months ago from chest complications.

Mr Douglas Maisiba, 30, said they buried his father and his son at 8am because the bodies were in bad shape and could not be viewed by mourners.

"The bodies were in very bad condition and were stinking. We buried them first and continued with the funeral programme," said Mr Maisiba.

With his mother Dinah Oribo, they thanked the CS for intervening in their case and allowing the remains of their relatives to be given a decent burial.

"The CS Interior in partnership with his Lands counterpart Farida Karoney ensured that surveyors clearly marked our land and left out the controversial piece,” said Mr Maisiba.

“He helped us build temporary houses to enable burial of my father and my son in accordance with our culture. Dr Matiang’i and Ms Karoney have promised to come here mid this week to lay a foundation stone for a new permanent house."

Kisii Central Sub-County Commissioner Wilberforce Kilonzo led a team of officers to ensure a smooth burial, supervised the fencing of the family's land and construction of the temporary houses.

Tight security

There was heavy security during the burial, with armed police officers keeping guard.

Mourners were full of praise for Mr Kilonzo and his boss, Dr Matiang’i, for handling the case professionally and ensuring justice for the bereaved and poor family.

Mrs Oribo, who was sad and sickly when the Nation visited her about three months ago, was all smiles and grateful for the assistance she had received.

She said Dr Matiang’i helped clear the mortuary fee at Nyamache Sub-County Hospital amounting to about Sh1.5 million besides covering all burial expenses.

"I feel happy and energetic that I have been able to inter my husband's remains after six years. We have undergone untold suffering, people have belittled us, but today, we thank God that this has finally come to an end," said Mrs Oribo.

But the family said that they continue to receive threats from people who allegedly grabbed their land and called on Dr Matiang’i to warn the individuals.

"We now have our 1.5-acre land properly fenced, thanks to our CS. He was categorical that we will not interfere with the disputed land. We will also not interfere with the court case," said Mr Maisiba.

Mzee Oribo died on May 24, 2017 after a long illness. His spirit had not rested all that time, something that had denied the family peace.

“He dropped dead just outside our house and we took him to the Nyamache hospital mortuary, where his remains have been all this while. Just as is the norm here, we went to pick up his body for burial after a week of mourning, but we were shocked when the mortuary attendant told us we could not take it because they had been instructed not to release it,” said Mr Maisiba.

The boda boda rider said that after follow-ups on the issue, they discovered that a family unknown to them and from a neighbouring clan had filed a case at the Kisii High Court, seeking to stop Mzee Oribo’s burial, ostensibly because the land he was to be interred on was theirs.

“In court proceedings, they said they had purchased the 2.5 acres. Well, we are aware that our father sold an acre of our land to a person known to us. This is not in dispute as we were all involved. The 2.5 acres that we call home is what is in dispute,” said Mr Maisiba.

“This case has been dragging on in court for six years. It was initially in the High Court, then it was moved to the Magistrate Court and in between the hearing, it was taken back to the High Court,” said Mr Maisiba, noting that the family does not understand why the case is taking so long to be concluded.

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