There was drama in Kampi Somali slum in Nakuru Town East after a family took the mortal remains of their kin to a man said to have owed him nearly half a million shillings.
The family of Richard Ogendi, 60, collected his body from the Nakuru Level Five Hospital mortuary on Monday morning for his Nakuru home for an overnight stay.
At around 12pm, a convoy of four vehicles snaked through Nakuru town on Mburu Guchua Road and headed towards Kampi Somali where Mr Ogendi's residence is.
"A short distance along the road leading to Kampi Somali, the hearse engine failed. This was at a trading center with several shops and a food kiosk," claimed Benson Tonu, the deceased's nephew.
A mechanic checked the hearse, if there was any mechanical problem, but no fault detected before bodaboda riders who worked with Ogendi came up with a bizarre idea.
"The riders spotted a food kiosk which they had earlier revealed to us was operated by one Simon Waweru, who happened to chair a merry-go-round where Ogendi was a member," he said.
Tonu said the riders suggested that they offload the casket from the hearse and take it into the food kiosk, which was suspiciously open and unattended.
"We agreed to their idea. We had also tried contacting him to recover our uncle's contributions, but he has been dodging us. We want the money or keep the body here," said Tonu.
The scene attracted hundreds of residents who were left in shock as the family and friends kept watch of the hotel, waiting for Waweru to show up.
"His wife showed up, and we instructed her to tell her husband to show up for us to discuss our demands. Both of them are nowhere to be seen an hour later," said Tonu.
He said they would only burry Ogendi once the family received the money from the chairperson.
"He has left behind children who need the money for their upkeep. We are ready to bury the body tomorrow should the money be paid or a commitment to pay made," said Tonu.
Patrick Kisangi, a member of the merry-go-round, revealed that they were in the process of recovering their contributions amounting to over Sh4 million from Waweru.
"Individual contributions were varied. Our initial goal was to buy land and subdivide among ourselves, but the group collapsed last year. Waweru has declined to refund us," said Kisangi.
He explained that the late Ogendi had made contributions amounting to Sh600,000 but had been partly paid after a struggle with their leader.
"Ogendi was given Sh100,000 and bodaboda valued at around Sh100,000. He was still pursuing the Sh400,000 balance. We are planning to pursue the matter as a civil case," said Kisangi.
According to the members, the chairperson had used their contributions to purchase a piece of land in Kuresoi North and registered it under his name.
The commotion attracted the police, who took a section of the family from the scene to Bondeni Police Station, where they recorded a statement.
Nakuru East Sub County Police Commander Martin Masika said they listened to the family's grievances, but there was little they could do to pursue the matter without a directive from the court.
"It is wrong for them to take a body to another person's house. We have advised them to either take the body to Kisii for burial or back to the morgue as they pursue the matter," said Masika.
