Court allows ex-Bonchari MP’s ‘lover’ to attend his burial under police protection
Former Bonchari MP Zebedeo Opore.
What you need to know:
- Ms Roseangela Nkirote and her two children, whom she says she bore with Opore, got an order from a Kisii court to take part in the funeral plans.
- Hearing the application on Friday, Senior Principal Magistrate Bernard Omwansa of the Kisii Law Courts directed that Ms Nkirote should take part in the late Opore’s burial on Saturday with her two children.
A mother who obtained a court order temporarily halting the burial of former assistant minister and Bonchari MP Zebedeo Opore will feature in his funeral programme and also attend his burial on Saturday under police protection, a court has directed.
Ms Roseangela Nkirote and her two children, whom she says she bore with Opore, got an order from a Kisii court to take part in the funeral plans.
She had sued on grounds that she had been sidelined from the burial plans yet she had children with the former assistant minister for Information and Broadcasting.
The burial was to happen at Opore’s home in Kisii County on Friday. However, that did not happen due to the lawsuit and was pushed forward by a day.
The restraining order came on Monday. Certifying the matter as urgent, the court ordered that Opore’s remains should not be removed from the Lee Funeral Home until Ms Nkirote’s case was heard and determined.
As a result, the family of the late was forced to conduct a requiem Mass in Nairobi on Wednesday without the body.
Hearing the application on Friday, Senior Principal Magistrate Bernard Omwansa of the Kisii Law Courts directed that Ms Nkirote should take part in the late Opore’s burial on Saturday with her two children.
The magistrate added that the three should be included in Opore’s funeral programme.
“That the DNA samples be transmitted to Aga Khan Hospital for purposes of ascertaining the paternity of the plaintiff’s children,” he added.
The officer commanding the Suneka Police Station was also tasked with ensuring that Ms Nkirote’s security and that of her children are taken care of during the burial ceremony that will take place in Nyamiobo village in Riana Location.
Mr Opore, who was born in 1947, died on October 18 at a hospital in Nairobi after ailing for a long period.
He was first elected to the National Assembly in 1997 but later lost his seat to Mr Charles Onyancha, before he reclaimed it in 2013.
