Covid, death and a Sh6 million bill: A widow's pain

Eunice Kigera is busy on her one-acre farm in Ol-Rongai ward, Rongai sub-county, in Nakuru County.

She had spent the better part of this Wednesday morning weeding her potatoes.

But there is one small conspicuous section at one end of the farm that has not been ploughed and appears bushy.

This is where Ms Kigera wishes to lay to rest her late husband Humphrey Kigera Mwai, who succumbed to Covid-19 six months ago.

She has not been able to get his body for burial because a Nakuru hospital has detained it over a huge medical bill.

An official invoice from Nakuru Nursing Home shows that the total bill for Mr Kigera’s treatment from September 4 to August 6 was Sh5.5 million.

Meanwhile, Umash Funeral Home, where the body is being preserved, charged the family Sh250,000.

The body is lying at the morgue because the family has failed to clear the bill.

Ms Kigera, 52, and her three children have tried to raise the money, to no avail. Neighbours, friends and relatives have also helped but what they have raised is not enough.

The family and the community have hit a dead end.

When it became evident that the problem was beyond the community’s capacity, everyone resumed their old lives.

The widow’s children went back to their families and she was left alone in the silent home.

“It has been one of the most traumatising periods of my life. I have been having sleepless nights with unending nightmares which have been torturous to my heart,” said Ms Kigera.

The woman said she had to pick up the pieces and continue with life after she accepted the reality of things.

“What I know is that the money is too much for us to raise. I am already in debt after borrowing some money during his treatment. I am only waiting for a miracle from God,” she said.

She explained that she held a fundraiser that collected Sh250,000, which went into settling some debts and other minor expenses.

“I have walked through every door that I know to seek help but none was forthcoming. When I went to see one of the county leaders, she asked me to go back and organise another harambee. I could not do it because I know the same people will come and may not raise much,” she said.

Her efforts to reach other leaders, she said, were unsuccessful as she was directed to leave a written request, which was never answered.

Though everyone else has lost hope, Ms Kigera is still optimistic that she will bury her husband one day, which is why she has identified a grave site for him.

“It is my hope that I will be given my husband’s body to bury so that my children and their children can see where he is lying,” she noted.

Mr James Mwangi, a neighbour who was on the planning committee, said the community is saddened by the case.

He wondered why the government cannot intervene to help the family as the death resulted from the pandemic.

“We are all concerned about how things are at Kigera’s home. The family and the community have done everything they can and I think it is time help came from somewhere else,” said Mr Mwangi.

Mr Kigera died on October 6 at Nakuru Nursing Home aged 74.

Besides Ms Kigera, he had three children – two daughters and a son.

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