Family sues to stop burial of slain Kitale lab technician ‘killed’ by son

The family of a slain laboratory technician who was allegedly strangled by her son will wait longer before burying her.

Her mother moved to court, demanding to have her buried at her parents’ home, and not her husband’s place, on the grounds that their marriage was a taboo under Bukusu customs.

The family of the late Judith Nafula Konya, who was a lab technician at St Joseph Girls School in Kitale, wants exclusive rights to bury their daughter.

They argue that her relationship with the man claiming to be her husband was a taboo and prohibited under Bukusu customary law. Marrying a niece in Bukusu traditions is an abomination.

The family also wants the man, Mr Andrew Barasa, to pay 36 cows as a penalty for the abominable act, which include two cows for siring a girl, three for the boy and one for the ‘deflowering of the breasts’ [intimate relations with Ms Konya].

“This man claiming to be the husband of the late [Ms Konya] married the daughter of his sister-in-law. Bukusu customary law prohibits the marriage and we will not allow him to bury her,” said the family, through its lawyer Sospeter Masika Nyongesa.

First wife

Mr Barasa’s first wife, Rose Nangekhe, took Ms Konya, her niece, to live with her after her father died. It was discovered later that she was pregnant from an intimate relationship with Mr Barasa.

He proceeded to marry her despite opposition from his first wife, who was Ms Konya’s aunt. Ms Nangekhe would later die, and Mr Barasa remained with Ms Konya as his second wife.

Ms Konya’s mother, Jane Nangila Kituyi, 72, told a Kitale court that the marriage of her late daughter and Mr Barasa was prohibited under Bukusu customary law.

Mr Barasa, she said, had been penalised under customary law for cohabiting with her daughter, which in Bukusu culture was an abomination called “luswa”.

Through her lawyer, Mr Nyongesa, she asked the court to bar Mr Barasa from collecting her daughter’s body from the Mount Elgon Hospital mortuary and interfering with it or with the family’s exclusive rights over it pending the hearing of the application.

The widow also wants her ‘son-in-law’ stopped from taking part in his late wife’s burial.

“The defendant should be restrained from attending or participating in the funeral of Judith Konya in accordance with the Bukusu customary law,” Mr Nyongesa said.

'No blood relation'

Mr Barasa, a retired high school principal, tabled through his lawyer, Beatrice Munialo, a church marriage band and a certificate of marriage, indicating that the marriage between him and Ms Konya was solemnised.

He told the court that he had no blood relationship with Ms Konya and that they had agreed to marry.

He asked the court to dismiss the case filed by his mother-in-law and allow him to bury her.

Mr Barasa’s sister, Mary Nangila Wanjala, in a cross-examination by Ms Munialo, disputed the argument that the marriage was an abomination, saying the matter only arose after the death of her sister-in-law.

But Mr Nyongesa asked her if it was okay for her to start an intimate relationship with a relative.

“According to the Bukusu customary law, is it possible to have a relationship with a son to your daughter even after the death of your daughter,” he asked her during cross-examination.

"You cannot take the child of your sister-in-law as a wife even if your wife is long dead. This is an abomination and the worst is to come."

'Hen and eggs'

Bukusu customary law expert Jairus Tulula said it was an abominable act, equating it to consuming a hen and its eggs/chicks at the same time.

“To my client’s detriment, the man claiming to be the husband of Jane Konya was penalised and barred from the relationship since the marriage is a blatant violation of the Bukusu customary law,” Mr Nyongesa said. 

“We wish to have him barred from interring her body or even attending the burial at her parents’ home in Chebukaka.

“The purported actions of the husband of Judith Konya are not in tandem with what is envisaged in the Bukusu customary law. The action of marrying his sister-in-law’s daughter was and remains illegitimate.”

Kitale Resident Magistrate Tobias Omono is hearing the matter.

Ms Konya’s body was retrieved from the Kiminini river after she was reported missing. Her son, Brian Wafula, who had been on the run, was arrested in Mtwapa on suspicion of strangling her. He is still in police custody.

A herdsman discovered the woman’s body floating in the river.

It emerged that before she disappeared, Mr Wafula had threatened to kill her after she scolded him for stealing and selling a bag of maize.

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