Family wants body of slain KDF soldier's widow exhumed

The family of a KDF soldier killed in an Al-Shabaab terror attack in El Adde, Somalia, in January 2016 wants to exhume the body of his widow, who died in a road accident two weeks ago.

Ms Esther Muthoni was among 12 people who died when their vehicle crashed at Kikopey, on the Nakuru-Nairobi highway.

Her family hurriedly buried her body on Tuesday morning in Kongasis, Gilgil Sub-County, Nakuru County.

Area residents watched in disbelief as the bizarre ceremony unfolded before them.

SLAIN SOLDIER

Family members of the slain soldier, Captain Joseph Mbau Gichuhi, had earlier traced Ms Muthoni’s body to Umash Funeral Home in Nakuru. They said they had obtained a court order blocking her burial.

But they were shocked to learn that the body had already been buried.

“We arrived at the morgue at around 9am and discovered that her family had taken the body at 5am,” said Mr John Maina, a brother of the late soldier.

Mr Maina said that they had sued after failing to agree on where to bury the body.

“We decided to seek the court’s intervention to help solve the dispute before the shocking turn of events. While my father wanted her to be buried close to her husband in Murang’a, her relatives wanted the body laid to rest in Nakuru,” Mr Maina said.

PROPERTY

He claimed that his sister-in-law’s family had all along been conspiring to bury her to acquire her property.

“We only came to learn that Muthoni had died in the crash on Sunday through social media. When we called her family, they claimed that they knew nothing about the incident,” said Mr Maina.

Ms Muthoni’s body, which was first taken to a mortuary in Kerugoya, Kirinyaga County, was transferred to Nakuru after her family learnt that the in-laws knew about the death.

“When we travelled to Nakuru on Monday we found that their home in Lanet had been broken into and documents, including land title deeds, had been taken,” he said.

STROKE

The slain soldier’s father, Mr Hezbon Gichuhi, is said to have suffered a stroke after receiving news of the burial.

Mr Thomas Mungai, Mr Gichuhi’s brother, said he wanted to see his daughter-in-law buried next to her husband at his rural home in Maragwa, Murang’a County, in accordance with their traditions.

He wondered why his in-laws would fight over the body when their daughter was legally married to their son. He said that the family had paid some dowry and taken care of Ms Muthoni since her husband died in 2016.

“This was my daughter-in-law, we had even agreed with KDF to have all our son’s benefits transferred to her. We will not allow her body to remain here in the wilderness,” said Mr Mungai.

DISPUTE

The couple had two sons, aged nine and six. “My two grandsons’ future should be secured, their father invested in the property. We will move to court to seek to take care of the property on their behalf until they are of age,” he said.

Area Chief Mark Cherutich said Ms Muthoni’s family had informed him of their intention to bury her body, adding that he did not know about the dispute.

“We have never witnessed a burial at such odd hours without even inviting neighbours,” said Mr John ole Sita, a neighbour.

Calls to Ms Muthoni’s family for comment were not answered.