Agony of Meru family stuck with wrong body they buried
The graveyard bearing a cross with the name of Abdalla Mwenda, who is alive.
One week after a man who was presumed dead returned home to find a body believed to be his already buried, the family is still in agony as the exhumation process drags on.
On Tuesday last week, Loire village, on the outskirts of Mutuati Market, woke up to a shocker when Abdalla Mwenda Suleiman, who was presumed dead, reappeared.
Mwenda, 20, a miraa picker, was ‘buried’ on Friday, October 4, after the family ‘positively’ identified a body that was found in a house he used to live with his estranged wife at Mutuati market.
When he reappeared, Mwenda said he had separated with the woman and relocated to Nthambiro, some 20 kilometres away.
“Since my work is picking miraa, I move from one place to another and I am rarely at home. I am shocked to find that my family buried me,” said Mwenda in dismay.
Interestingly, Mwanda’s colleague said they had passed by his home on Friday as the burial was taking place.
The burial site is on a parcel of land that sits by Mutuati-Antubetwe Kiongo road, and the graveyard can be seen from the tarmac.
“We left Nthambiro in Igembe Central on Friday and travelled to another farm in Mutuati. We passed by Mwenda’s home and he wondered why there were so many people at his home but we proceeded.”
“On Sunday, as we were packaging miraa, someone broke the news that Mwenda had been buried yet he was alive. Mwenda was so shocked that he could not work. He went to sleep,” the colleague recounted.
After recovering from the shock, Mwenda decided to go home to confirm the bizarre news.
When Nation visited their home on Tuesday this week, an atmosphere of grief and despair was palpable.
The grave is still fresh with an arrowroot plant that was planted during the burial still thriving. Locals milled around hoping that the police had finally come to exhume the body.
Keeping guard of grave
Mr Meeme M'Nchebere, Mwenda’s father and a resident of Voi, was still asleep having spent the night keeping guard over the grave.
"We have been given strict instructions to ensure the body is not stolen. The police said the matter is sensitive since the deceased was murdered. I have to keep vigil throughout the night," M'Nchebere said.
He said his son Mwenda had had to flee the village as he could not keep seeing a grave bearing his name.
Mr M'Nchebere said they buried the wrong body since he was not able to view it.
"I live in Voi where I relocated more than 10 years ago. Mwenda was left behind in Meru. Recently, I received a call from neighbours who told me my son was dead. As a Muslim, I am not allowed to view a dead body. So we proceeded with the burial," he recounts.
He said the police had informed him that he should raise Sh70, 000 to cover the costs of acquiring a court order, pathologist and exhumation.
"I am a small trader in Voi and cannot raise the money the police want to exhume the body. I am currently surviving on well-wishers in the village. Neighbours are hesitant to help fundraise because they contributed in the botched burial," he says.
M'Nchebere is now in dilemma, as he can neither go back to his family in Voi, nor fasttrack the exhumation of the body.
But according to Mutuati sub-County Deputy County Commissioner (DCC) Sylvester Mwangulu, the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) was in the process of securing a court order to exhume the body.
"The DCIO has already sworn an affidavit and the matter was to be heard on Monday. However, the victim and his father did not appear in court. They are required in court before an order is issued," Mr Mwangulu.
But Mr M'Nchebere said he could not raise the money needed to travel to Maua law courts on Monday.
Mr Mwangulu said the matter was sensitive since the body involved was collected from a murder scene.
He said the murder suspect, a woman, was still at large and was being hunted down by the police.
