Court allows burial of Bungoma ex-Senator Nathan Munoko to proceed
Former Cabinet minister Nathan Munoko.
The first senator of Bungoma and one of the longest-serving Kanu officials, Mzee Nathan Waliaula Munoko, will be buried at his Naluwa farm in Trans Nzoia County after a Nairobi court lifted a temporary order issued blocking his interment.
Senior resident magistrate Francis Terer lifted the order he had granted on December 31, stating that the balance of convenience tilted towards allowing burial plans to proceed as scheduled.
Four children of the late politician led by Aggrey Waliaula Munoko and Khama Wanjala had rushed to court arguing that as a Bukusu elder, their late father ought to be buried at his Kolani home, Bungoma County, where his first wife Titi Munoko was laid to rest.
They also complained that their step-mother and Munoko’s youngest wife, Doris Imbiti, had excluded them from the burial preparations.
The magistrate noted that the sons had conceded that the burial arrangements have been made public on various channels including local radio stations.
“The import of this is that the whole world knows that the deceased will be buried at Naluwa farm on January 4, 2024. This, therefore, means that people from all corners of the country have made plans to attend the burial. Therefore, any order stopping the same will not only be catastrophic to the defendant (Doris) but the mourners as well,” said the magistrate.
Veteran politician
Kanu Secretary-General Nathan Munoko pins a party badge on President Moi.
Mzee Munoko was the first senator of Bungoma, where he served between the years 1963 and 1967, until Senate was abolished.
Subsequently, he was elected as the first MP for Bungoma Central and served between 1967 and 1978.
Mzee Munoko also served as assistant minister in several ministries in Mzee Jomo Kenyatta’s government.
He died on December 19, 2024, aged 102. He had four wives, but three have since died.
