I leave it to God: Kimwatu withdraws case after KCB manager buried at night

 

The late KCB executive Rosemary Chemutai Kimwatu. [File, Standard]

The legal battle over the burial of Kenya Commercial Bank Head of Data Protection Rosemary Chemutai ended on Monday after her husband Kevin Migwe Kimwatu withdrew the case.

Kimwatu, while admitting that he has left the matter to God, said his late wife had already been buried.

He withdrew the case before Milimani Commercial Magistrate Agnes Mwangi after his lawyer confirmed that Chemutai had been buried in Kericho County on Friday night despite the court having issued orders barring the burial without his involvement.

The magistrate allowed the withdrawal of the suit with no orders as to costs, bringing to an end the bitter dispute over Chemutai’s final send-off.

Kimwatu had moved to court seeking to participate in funeral arrangements and have his wife buried at their ancestral home in Matasia, Ngong, Kajiado County.

But by the time the matter returned to court on Monday, Chemutai had already been laid to rest in a hurried burial ceremony on Friday night.

Lawyer Felix Keaton, representing Chemutai’s parents Paul Kipkorir Koech and Beatrice Koech, indeed confirmed to the court that the deceased was buried in Kericho between 5:30pm and 6:30pm on Friday.

Keaton said Chemutai’s parents and sister did not know that the court had issued orders stopping the burial before they laid her to rest.

He said the family only learnt of the orders on Saturday through the media.

According to Keaton, KCB officials were already present at the burial ceremony when Chemutai was laid to rest, with the ceremony taking place between 5:30pm and 6:30pm.

He said the matter had therefore been overtaken by events.

“There is no objection from the parents of Rosemary to access to the grave,” Keaton told the court.

He said Chemutai’s parents bore no grudge against Kimwatu, his children or his extended family and considered Kimwatu as their son and his children their grandchildren.

“They are always welcome to visit at any time, any day,” he said.

Kimwatu’s lawyer Ramadan Abubakar said the husband had initially approached the court because he wanted to be involved in the funeral arrangements and ensure that he and his children gave Chemutai a befitting send-off.

However, after learning that the burial had already taken place, Kimwatu instructed his lawyer Abubakar to withdraw the case in its entirety.

The lawyer told the court that Kimwatu did not intend to seek the exhumation of his wife’s remains or pursue contempt proceedings against her parents, sister or KCB over the alleged breach of the court orders.

Instead, he chose to leave the matter to God.

The lawyer said Kimwatu remained of the view that his wife deserved a good send-off but accepted that she had already been buried.

He asked that Kimwatu, their four children and members of the extended family be allowed to visit Chemutai’s graveside whenever they wished.

The court proceedings had begun on Friday when Magistrate Mwangi issued interim orders stopping Chemutai’s remains from being removed from Lee Funeral Home and restraining her family, relatives and KCB employees from making funeral arrangements or proceeding with the burial without Kimwatu’s involvement.

However, the orders came after funeral plans were already under way.

Lawyer Danstan Omari, representing members of Chemutai’s sister, said his client had not been served with the court papers and was unaware of the proceedings.

“My client has not been served with court papers,” Omari told the court.

He said his client had been occupied with Chemutai’s burial and had not known about the case.

Omari said that if an affidavit of service of court orders had been sworn against his client, the defence would have sought an opportunity to cross-examine its author.

But with the burial already completed, he agreed that the application had been overtaken by events.

“Burial has been done. Application is exhausted,” Omari said.

He urged the parties to allow Chemutai to rest rather than prolong the dispute.

“My position, let the dead rest in peace... let us not involve. And rest this matter, rest and defend my sister,” he said.

Omari also raised concern over the welfare of Chemutai’s four children, urging the parties to develop a roadmap on how they would be raised following their mother’s death.

He cited Article 51 and cautioned against allowing the burial dispute to deepen divisions within the family.

“A life has been lost,” he said, urging the parties to focus on the children and allow Chemutai to rest.

KCB, which had been listed as the fifth defendant, told the court that it had been served with the case and requested 14 days to respond.

The bank’s lawyer said KCB would not comment on whether the burial had taken place but indicated that it would seek to have the bank removed from the proceedings.

“We shall be filing an application to be expunged,” the lawyer said.

He explained that KCB had been drawn into the dispute through a letter dated August 25.

“We shall be filing a letter to be removed from these proceedings,” he said, before conveying condolences to the bereaved family.

Kimwatu had sued Chemutai’s parents, Paul Kipkorir Koech and Beatrice Koech, her sister Judy Koech-Oyamo, Lee Funeral Services and KCB Bank Kenya Limited.

He had sought orders allowing him to participate in his wife’s final rites and have her buried at his ancestral home in Matasia, Ngong Sub-County, Kajiado County.

But with Chemutai already laid to rest, the widower opted not to pursue the fight further.

The magistrate subsequently allowed the suit to be withdrawn with no orders as to costs.

The withdrawal effectively closes the court chapter of the burial dispute, with Chemutai’s family now calling for peace, harmony and tranquility as relatives come to terms with her death.