When Charles Opiyo received news that his first wife Agnes Atieno had died, he resolved that her final resting place would be far from his homestead.
He identified a spot within a sugarcane plantation in Omieny village in Homa Bay County where he intended her body to be interred. However, when members of his family rejected the idea and proceeded to bury Agnes beside his house, Mr Opiyo allegedly took matters into his own hands.
Under the cover of darkness, he exhumed the body and moved it to the location he had originally chosen. That decision landed him in a police cell in Ndhiwa. He was arrested for disturbing the dead and acting without a court order.
In his defence, Opiyo maintained that the place to which he transferred the body was the family cemetery.
Ndhiwa Police Station in Homa Bay County in this photo taken on June 23, 2026. A man and his son are being held at the station after they exhumed a body and buried it in another grave.
Photo credit: George Odiwuor | Nation Media Group
At the time of the woman’s death, Mr Opiyo was no longer living with Agnes. The couple had separated and he married a second wife.
Neighbours said Mr Opiyo and his estranged wife did not have children, one of the issues that led them to grow apart. Following the separation, Agnes sustained herself through a small-scale business while living in rented accommodation.
Despite their estrangement, Mr Opiyo accepted responsibility for her burial in keeping with Luo cultural traditions.
“His in-laws said there was nowhere else they could take the body. He was persuaded to bury her on his land because of cultural beliefs,” said one neighbour.
The burial site eventually chosen was beside the house, a decision Mr Opiyo strongly opposed.
He had already dug a grave in the sugarcane field where he wanted Agnes to be laid to rest. However, his in-laws and some members of his own family objected to the plan.
They insisted that burying the deceased away from the homestead would be contrary to Luo customs and could bring misfortune upon the family in future.
However, according to Mr Magai Jonyo, a member of the Luo Council of Elders, custom also grants a husband the right to decide where his wife should be buried.
“When a man rightfully marries a woman by taking cattle to her home, she becomes part of his family under customary law. Upon her death, he has the authority to determine where she is laid to rest,” said the elder.
Last Thursday, Mr Opiyo’s in-laws, working with some of his relatives, buried Agnes beside his house in East Kabuoch Location.
The body was first taken into the house she had occupied before the separation. Following the burial, Mr Opiyo was reportedly advised to build another house for his second wife.
Ndhiwa Police Commander John Losia said Mr Opiyo had earlier reported the matter at the police station but found little support.
“He claimed that his in-laws had threatened him and that very few people supported his position. I advised him to respect tradition and follow the guidance of his in-laws,” said Mr Losia.
While Mr Opiyo travelled to and from Ndhiwa Town, relatives moved swiftly – a grave was dug beside the house and Agnes was buried.
“The family was conducting the funeral service when the body was already in the grave. The man sat quietly and listened to the eulogy,” recalled one witness.
When the event was over and mourners had dispersed, Mr Opiyo returned to the grave on Saturday night and exhumed the body.
The incident came to light after neighbours noticed that the grave within the sugarcane plantation had been freshly covered while the original burial site bore signs of disturbance.
Mr Losia said exhuming a body without judicial authorisation was unlawful. He noted that Mr Opiyo would face charges related to failing to uphold the dignity of the deceased and violating the sanctity of a burial site.
“I instructed officers at Magina to detain him immediately after I was informed of the incident. He will be charged with disturbing the dead. It should serve as a warning to others with similar intentions,” said the police commander.
On Monday, police filed a miscellaneous application at Ndhiwa Law Courts seeking permission to detain the suspect for seven days as investigations continue.
Mr Losia said investigators would record statements from local administrators and neighbours. “He was arrested alongside his son, who is alleged to have assisted him in digging the grave,” he said.
However, Elder Jonyo maintained that the family acted improperly by burying Agnes in Mr Opiyo’s absence. “They should not have proceeded with the burial when the husband was away,” he said.
