Witnesses have told a Ndhiwa Court that Luo customs were not followed during the burial of the late Joab Otieno, whose body was later exhumed following a court order.
The deceased’s brother, Calvince Nyadiero, told the court that Otieno was buried in a bush in Seme Location, Kisumu County.
He testified on Tuesday during the hearing of a case in which two families are wrangling over who should bury the deceased.
Otieno died at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital in April and was subsequently buried in Seme before his body was exhumed and taken to the Ndhiwa Sub-County Hospital mortuary.
The family of Joseph Nyadiero and that of the late Paul Nundu are engaged in a legal dispute over the burial of Otieno.
Nyadiero is a resident of Kogo Komolo Village, South Kanyamwa Location, Ndhiwa Sub-County, Homa Bay County, while the late Nundu was a resident of Kakelo Village, Seme Sub-County, Kisumu County.
In the case, Otieno’s mother, Monica Auma, has complained that the family of the late Nundu wants to deprive her of the right to bury her son.
Auma, who is married to Nyadiero, has sued Jennifer Nundu, a sister to the late Nundu, as the first defendant and Joel Nundu, the late Nundu’s brother, as the second defendant.
Immediately after Otieno’s death, Nundu’s family buried him in Seme.
However, Nyadiero’s family later obtained a court order allowing the body to be exhumed and transferred to the Ndhiwa Sub-County Hospital mortuary.
The deceased’s aunt, Florence Adek, also told the court that the family sought the exhumation because Otieno had allegedly been buried in an unsuitable location.
“My nephew was buried in a bush near a river in Seme. The environment was not suitable for burying a human being. He was buried like a dog,” Adek told the court.
“Only dogs or wild animals can be buried in the manner he was buried in Seme. We had to seek a court order to exhume the boy immediately after the burial,” she added.
Auma’s lawyer, Albert Ongoso, questioned the circumstances surrounding the burial.
“You have said Otieno was buried by strangers in a bush near a river with no homestead around. Is this how the Luo community should inter their loved ones?” Ongoso asked Adek.
Adek maintained that the burial was conducted contrary to Luo cultural practices, arguing that the community traditionally buries its dead within a homestead as a sign of dignity.
“The burial was done against our culture. I plead with the court to allow Auma to bury her son,” Adek said.
However, lawyers for the defendants disputed the account. Jennifer Nundu’s lawyer, Kennedy Okong’o, and Joel Nundu’s lawyer, Marvin Odero, told the court that the deceased had been buried in a homestead.
Principal Magistrate Phylis Shinyada scheduled the next hearing for November 6, 2026.
By Davis Langat
