Man: Why I buried my wife in our kitchen
A man in Keumbu Village, Kisii County has explained why he buried his wife inside his house.
Mr Lawrence Gekonge, 60, said he made the decision to bury wife Grace inside their kitchen because that is the part of the house she loved most when she was alive.
“I know that among the Gusii, burying somebody inside the house has never been witnessed, but it is a decision that I made and I was not turning back,” he said.
Gekonge’s wife died in Eldoret on March 27 after a short illness, and was buried last Friday.
He said his decision did not go down well with some of his in-laws, some of who went to court to contest it before it could be implemented. He said he sought audience with his father-in-law to assist him sort out the matter in vain.
As they sought ways to resolve the matter, Mr Gekonge explained, his wife’s body was taken to Christa Marian Hospital in Kisii town.
“I had already decided to go ahead and bury my wife without the approval of my in-laws only to get court summons ordering me to halt the burial. I had no option other than to take my wife’s body to the mortuary,” he said.
COURT RULING
He said he did not give up and continued the battle in court which ruled in his favour.
He said that his troubles did not end there because his relatives and neighbours refused to help him dig the grave forcing him to do it alone.
“Nobody, not even my brothers wanted to help dig my wife’s grave, but I was determined. I did it myself,” Mr Gekonge said.
He explained that he made the decision to enable him take care of her for the rest of his life.
He also said that when he dies, he would prefer to be buried in his sitting room because that’s where he loves spending most of his time.
Mr Gekonge said his wife used to work as a nurse at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret before she died.
The funeral ceremony was conducted by his wife’s workmates because all his relatives and neighbours kept off.