‘Concubine’ no more: Widow gets court nod to bury Keiyo husband

An Eldoret court has granted a widow the right to bury her Keiyo husband, declaring her a legally married wife to a deceased police officer, and not a ‘concubine’ as claimed by her in-laws.

The court on Tuesday ruled in favour of Ms Caroline Mumbua in a burial dispute pitting her against her Keiyo in-laws, who termed her a concubine to their son, and cited unfulfilled cultural marriage rites, blocking her attempts to bury her late husband.

Eldoret Senior Principal Magistrate, Mogire Onkoba, declared Ms Mumbua as the legally married wife to deceased police officer, Victor Korir, granting her the right to bury her late husband.

The court pronouncement comes barely a week after Ms Mumbua’s Keiyo in-laws declared they would ‘never’ recognise the widow despite her 18 years of married life to their son and four children, citing unmet cultural marriage rites.

Her mother-in-law, retired teacher, Elizabeth John Yator, and her brother-in-law, Hosea Kiptoo Korir, had refused to acknowledge Ms Mumbua as the wife of the deceased and rejected her attempt to bury him.

According to the ‘mother-in-law,’ the Kalenjin community only recognises payment of a minimum of four cows as dowry and not goats, while Ms Mumbua said the goats were documented as dowry according to the Kamba culture.

“I have never recognised her as my daughter-in-law as she claims in her court documents. The goats we took to her parents' home in Ukambani were just a present and not dowry,” she told the court.

However, while delivering the ruling, Magistrate Onkoba said a background check on marriage cultural rites in both the Keiyo and Kamba communities had confirmed that there was a dowry exchange between the two parties, and both the cultural marriage ceremonies known as Koito in Kalenjin and Ngasia in Kamba had happened, making her marriage to the late Korir legal.

The court heard that during the Ngasia ceremony in Makueni County, the family of the deceased paid three goats as dowry, and one of the goats was slaughtered for the guests to signify a marriage covenant between the two parties as per Kamba traditions.

The family of the deceased was represented by elder William Kiptum, who represented the deceased's father, who was said to be sick and unable to travel to Makueni.

During her appearance in court, Ms Yator had confirmed that she and her son’s other relatives took three goats to Ms Mumbua’s home in Ukambani, but insisted it was just a present and not dowry, refuting claims by ‘her daughter-in-law’ that the goats were a form of dowry, according to the Kamba culture.

Through her lawyer, Gladys Nyamwega, Ms Mumbua secured a court order a month ago stopping the burial of her late husband after her mother-in-law and her brother-in-law plotted to sideline her in the burial arrangements.

The defendant together with her other relatives had planned to collect the body of the late Korir from Iten County Referral Hospital for burial on August 30 at Kibendo village in Elgeyo Marakwet County, but were stopped by the court order obtained by Ms Mumbua.

In her petition filed on August 28 and amended on September 16, Ms Mumbua insisted that she was the wife to the deceased and wanted to be recognised as the next of kin, and to be allowed to bury her husband on a piece of land she says they were given by her parents-in-law in Uswo Uasin Gishu County as a couple.

She insisted that she was legally married to Korir and that the deceased's family paid the dowry in the form of four goats when they visited her home in Makueni County before his death. 

In her defence submission, Ms Yator wanted the court to compel Ms Mumbua to pay her family Sh500,000 as compensation for burial expenses that she had incurred before the plaintiff acquired a court order stopping the burial.

The magistrate declined to grant all the eight prayers by Ms Yator, declaring that the marriage between Ms Mumbua and the late Korir was legal. 

“A declaration is hereby issued that Ms Caroline Mumbua Kiplimo is the legitimate wife to the deceased, Victor Kiplimo Korir, under the customary law and she has the right to bury her deceased husband,” ruled the Magistrate. 

The court ruled that Ms Mumbua together with the children of the deceased have the priority to decide how their kin would be buried.

“Caroline Mumbua Mumbua Kiplimo as the surviving spouse ranks high in the priority of burying the deceased at the family graveyard at the ancestral land given to her together with her husband by the late John Kipkorir Yator, father to the deceased at Kapendo area being parcel no Elgeyo/Marakwet/Kibendo/77.

The court ordered the hospital mortuary where the body is being preserved to release the body to Ms Mumbua to be assisted by the children of the deceased and other siblings of the deceased. 

The court further ordered that the mortuary fee and other expenses shall be shared by all parties.

Interestingly, Mr Stanley Kagunza, the lawyer representing the defendant, hailed the magistrate for in-depth research before delivering his judgment. 

“Your honour I thank you for the deep research that you involved in this matter, especially on matters of Keiyo culture and Kamba culture on marriage,” Mr Kagunza told the court during a judgment delivered virtually.

Mr Korir died on August 20, at Real Hospital in Eldoret leaving behind seven children, including Ms Mumbua's four girls.

Ms Yator, in challenging her daughter’s in-laws' desire to bury her late husband, claimed that her son had many concubines and she was just one of them.

During the hearing of the case last week, Mzee Ben Kurui, an uncle to the late police officer, told the Eldoret court that according to Keiyo customary burial rites, the widow has no right to bury her husband of 18 years because the duo did not undergo the three customary marriage rites to seal their union.

The rites include showing up, koito (which entails dowry negotiation between husband and wife's families), and a wedding.

Because of this, Korir’s uncle told the court that Ms Mumbua would never be recognised as the legal wife of the deceased because according to the Keiyo culture, he died a bachelor.

"Even though Ms Mumbua was married to Victor for eighteen years and were blessed with four children, we do not recognize her as his wife but a girlfriend since she has not gone through the three cultural rites, which are a must in our community," he told a court sitting on Monday.

Eldoret Senior Principal Magistrate Onkoba issued the order pending a hearing and determination of the matter.

The court heard that Ms Mumbua lived with the deceased for 18 years, and they were blessed with four children from their union.

Two residents of Uswo village where the deceased resided with his family testified in court that the couple indeed lived together as husband and wife for 18 years and they knew them as a couple.

The uncle to the deceased while testifying before Magistrate Onkoba at a sitting last week, however, told the court that Ms Mumbua would be allowed to attend the burial of her husband just like any other mourner, and not as a wife since the deceased died ‘a bachelor.’

"Since the deceased died before going through the three customary rites with his wife of 18 years, we will bury him as a bachelor and not as a married man according to our culture," Mzee Kurui told a parked court.  

On the issue of refunding Sh500,000 incurred by the deceased's family on burial arrangements that were aborted after Ms Mumbua obtained a court order, the magistrate declined to compel Ms Mumbua to pay the said money.

“The prayer of a counterclaim for payment of the sum of Sh500,000 by the plaintiff to the defendant is declined,” ruled the Magistrate.

However, the court stated that each party would bear their costs since it was a family matter.