Court blocks Wanjiru funeral as father speaks out

Joseph Kuria | NATION
Hannah Wanjiru (left) , mother of Kamau Wanjiru and Teresia Njeri watching CCTV at Wanjiru’s home in Muthaiga estate in Nyahururu town on May 19, 2011.

Marathon champion Samuel Wanjiru’s funeral matters have become a court issue.

His mother has obtained orders from the High Court blocking his wife from burying him.

Mr Justice Anyara Emukule granted a 14-day injunction after Ms Hanna Wanjiru went to court to stop Ms Teresia Njeri from burying her husband.

Wanjiru died after falling off a balcony during a confrontation after his wife found him in bed with a waitress.

Ms Hanna Wanjiru has been vocal in insisting that her son was killed and claims that there was blood in the living room of his house.

The athlete’s body will stay at the Lee Funeral Home until the court in Nakuru hears both parties.

The mother accuses Ms Njeri of making arrangements to bury her son on May 24 without involving her. She does not even recognise Ms Njeri as her son’s wife, although almost everyone else, including the police, do.

Mr Wilfred Konosi, representing the star’s mother, said his client wanted investigations into the athlete’s death completed and a postmortem examination.

“Given the circumstances surrounding the death of Mr Wanjiru, my client wants to ascertain the cause of death before the burial of her son,” he said.

The judge granted the order but asked the lawyer to find other ways of settling the dispute without shaming the champion through a court battle over his body.

“It is almost shameful having to take this route about the fallen national hero, I believe he deserves a decent send-off,” said Justice Emukule.

The case will be heard on June 2.

Outside the court, Mr Konosi said his client was open to dialogue. On top of claiming that her son was murdered, Ms Hanna Wanjiru also says another woman, Ms Mary Wacera, is her son’s wife and that he paid dowry for her.

Back in Nyahururu, family and friends were shown CCTV recordings from the night he died. However, even though the house was covered by nine cameras, there was no recording of the balcony area from which he is reported to have fallen.

Five of the cameras were operational and a recording of what went on at the gate was played. A camera mounted on top of the balcony was angled to cover the gate and not the area below.

Another one at the gate covering the house, including the balcony, was apparently not operational.

As a result, no images were seen of Wanjiru on the balcony, falling off it or on the ground.

Nyandarua divisional police commander Jasper Ombati and his CID counterpart, Mr Isaac Onyango, accompanied by CCTV experts visited the home seeking to retrace Wanjiru’s last moments.

Recordings show Wanjiru’s car pulling up at the gate at 10.31pm, the gate being opened and the athlete driving in.

The watchman closes the gate and runs to open the main door of the house for his boss.

Fifteen minutes later, images show a woman entering the compound through the pedestrian gate, followed by a Toyota Landcruiser.

Some of the pictures are poor because of a bright flashlight, which was shone into the compound.