The Standard Group Plc is a
multi-media organization with investments in media platforms spanning newspaper
print operations, television, radio broadcasting, digital and online services. The
Standard Group is recognized as a leading multi-media house in Kenya with a key
influence in matters of national and international interest.
Police try to diffuse tension at a burial ceremony for the late Stephen Syovo Mulatya at Kailungu, in Migwani Sub County in Kitui on November 27, 2016 after a drama ensured when a woman and her six children threatened to stop it if they were not recognised as members of the deceased’s family. PHOTO PAUL MUTUA/STANDARD
A burial ceremony in Migwani sub-county, Kitui County, was briefly thrown into disarray after a woman surfaced after 19 years to demand recognition as the deceased's first wife.
Armed Administration Police officers intervened to stop a violent confrontation between the man's family and his alleged first wife, who surfaced on the eve of the burial accompanied by her children and grandchildren.
The burial was stopped for half-an-hour to allow a consensus between the two sides.
The mother of six mobilised her children and threatened to stop the burial unless they were recognised as part of the deceased's family.
The woman started protesting as soon as she realised that her name and those of her children were not included in the deceased's list of family members.
Amid confusion and tension, a local politician summoned the family members to an impromptu meeting in which the stalemate was resolved.
Trouble started when the first wife noticed that only her co-wife had been listed in the burial programme.
A section of mourners panicked and started leaving, fearing a violent confrontation between the family members.
When calm was restored, the two wives sat together as friends and relatives paid their last respects to their 66-year-old departed husband.
Witnesses claimed that the disgruntled wife had returned to her matrimonial home in Kaikungu village, Nguutani ward, on the eve of her husband's burial with her children and grandchildren, 19 years after she deserted him and went to live with another man in central Kenya.
Relatives of the deceased differed on whether she deserved being recognised as one of their own.
Earlier, she had stormed Migwani Sub-County Hospital mortuary and asked the attendants not to release her husband's body until the standoff was resolved.
However, the attendants turned down her request demanding a court order.
The Standard Group Plc is a
multi-media organization with investments in media platforms spanning newspaper
print operations, television, radio broadcasting, digital and online services. The
Standard Group is recognized as a leading multi-media house in Kenya with a key
influence in matters of national and international interest.
join