Land dispute stops burial of 3 family members killed in road crash

The burials of a man, his wife and their daughter who perished in a road accident on November 1 in Kiambu County failed to take place in Murang'a on Wednesday as scheduled, thanks to a land dispute.

The bodies were taken on a road trip to the Gakurwe Anglican Church, where a mass was held before they were taken back to the morgue.

The bodies had been removed from Montezuma Monalisa funeral home in Murang'a South and transported to Kiharu Constituency for the planned burial.

Three graves that had been dug for them in Gatitu village were filled with soil by a wing of the family that did not want the ceremony to be held there.

William Kamau, 77, his wife Jane Njoki, 69, their two daughters Rhoda Njeri, 40, and Evelyn Waithira, 32, died when their car crashed at Njira ya Ngenia near Limuru.

Ms Waithira, a tutor at Kenya Medical Training College, in Nairobi was driving the car. 

Tigoni traffic police boss Benson Onsongo told Nation.Africa that the accident occurred when the driver, heading in the direction of Nakuru, attempted to overtake another car and collided head-on with an oncoming vehicle.

Ms Njeri had been buried on her husband's land in Kariti village, near the Mukurwe wa Nyagathanga Shrine, on Monday.

"We had notified the family members that we would not allow them to bury the bodies on this land,” said James Ngige.

“We gave them a court order to that effect that we had procured from the Murang'a courthouse. But arrogance and impunity saw them want to force the burial to happen."

He said the deceased man had been given alternative land and directed to settle there but opted to live on the disputed parcel. 

"They have deliberately put themselves in this shame of removing the bodies from the mortuary, holding a Mass for them in a church and eventually, for lack of graves, transporting them back to the mortuary," he said.

He added that the inner circle of the bereaved family had hoped to use money to force through the ceremony.

He said the family had hired their own security to force through the burial only for a court order to prevail that compelled area police to make sure the ceremony did not happen.

Mr Anthony Gichatha, a son in the mourning family, said “the incident was regrettable and a shame".

He said their burial plans were dragged in "senseless greed for material wealth that put family values and morality to shame".

He added: “Losing four family members in a single stroke is very devastating. It is a tragedy that has overwhelmed and thrown us into total confusion. We are in the phase of accepting and healing…Then this shame visits us," he said.

Joyce Mwaniki, from the deceased family's side, said they will now sit down and plan their next move.

"This stalemate won't last forever...the nonsense needs to stop so that we can bury our loved ones. When and where is what we will communicate to you later," she said.

The opposition to the burial, she said, was staged in an awkward manner and casts the family as one that "practices crude capitalism that has no sensitivity and morals".

But she added that the family will put the ugly incident behind them, reconcile and move forward together.

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