Bereaved family says Sh70,000 not enough for burials of its seven kin

A family which lost seven members in the collapsed Huruma building is now facing the dilemma of holding multiple burials.

Despite the county and national governments having pledged Sh50,000 and Sh20,000 respectively for every bereaved household, the family says the allocation was not enough to cater for the burials.

John Awiti, the family's spokesperson, said their case needs special attention.

"None of them is going to be buried in the same area though they all hail from Nyanza," he said.

During the postmortem examination at City Mortuary on Tuesday, he says they were informed that all identified bodies should be collected for burial by tomorrow.

This, he said, will not be possible due to customary considerations.

John Awiti is now facing the dilemma of conducting multiple burials. Despite the county and national government pledging Sh50,000 and Sh20,000 respectively for every bereaved household, the family still argues that it is not enough to cater for the whole cost. (PHOTO: WILLIS AWANDU/ STANDARD)

"Traditionally, there is no way a parent will be buried before the child," he said.

Those who perished are Awiti's two sisters, Susan Anyango and Ruth Auma, whose bodies are to be transported to Busia and Homa Bay counties respectively.

Others are Belinda Akinyi and her two children who are to be buried in Siaya County, and his nephew Gavine Omondi and niece Pascalate Akoth who will be buried in Homa Bay.

"We Luos do not trade with the dead. That is a bad omen. It is one thing we respect dearly. My sisters and the daughters-in-law have to be given a sendoff that matches their status," he said.

He said another dilemma that may drag burials of women is bride price.

"We have to determine if their bride prices had been fully paid. If not, then they will be buried in their parents' home and not the husbands," he said.

By yesterday afternoon, the bereaved who had camped at the Huruma Social Hall had not received any communication on how they will receive the money for funerals.

The Incident Management Team has proposed that the site be preserved as a memorial to the 51 victims.

Designated Incident Commander Huruma Building Collapse Disaster and Director of National Disaster Management Unit (NDMU) Pius Maasai said the proximity of the building to the river is evidence that the parcel is public property.

He said rescue operations were officially closed officially and the site handed over to the local command as per the Incident Management Protocol.