Court dashes Christian father's hope of burying his Muslim son

For a year, Samuel Charo stayed in the morgue as his father battled in a clash of religions that put his right to mental status to the test.

In an intriguing but landmark case, Charo, who had converted from Christianity to Islam before he died, was immediately buried last year, then exhumed, then re-buried under Islamic rites after the court found that his wishes ought to be honoured.

Charo, a relative of former Cabinet Secretary Aisha Jumwa, had converted in 2003. Jumwa was among those who claimed he had adopted a new religion, but his father, Stephen Kazungu, denied it, saying he was not in the right state of mind and therefore remained a Christian to the end.

Kazungu sued Bakari Juma Ratiri, an Imam who had buried Charo, arguing that since 2020, he was mentally disturbed and had been treated in Kilifi County Referral and Portreitz hospitals.

He narrated that his son was killed by a mob, after which the body was taken to Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital Mortuary and subsequently released to him.

Nevertheless, as he was about to bury him, he was served with an order, barring him from burying Charo from the Kadhi’s Court.

The court ordered that Juma ought to instead collect the body and have Charo buried in accordance with the Islamic religion. He was buried on April 28, 2025. According to Kazungu, the final rites were done at 11 pm in the night at Takaungu Muslim Cemetery. He alleged this was done without his consent or knowledge.

The burial stoked a new battle, with Kazungu moving to the High Court. He prevailed after Justice Thande Mugure declared that the Kadhi’s Court had no powers to entertain the case as it was still unknown if Charo was a Christian or a Muslim.

She on July 11, 2025, ordered the body to be exhumed. “Having found as I have that the Kadhi’s court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the matter before him and that the orders issued are a nullity, the question of the deceased’s burial remains unresolved. This can only be determined by a court of competent jurisdiction. Additionally, the question whether the deceased had converted to Islam or not will be determined in proceedings before such court,” she ruled.

The case then moved to the Magistrate’s Court. However, Kazungu’s victory was short-lived after the lower court agreed with the Imam that Charo was a Muslim.

Chief Magistrate Charles Obulutsa said that other than him claiming that he was a Christian, and had an unsound mind, he never called anyone or an expert to back his case. Kazungu wished that Charo would be buried under Mijikenda customs, but the court disagreed.

While agreeing with Bakari, Obulutsa was of the view that Charo had chosen Islam during his lifetime, and had even assumed an Islamic name, Zakaria, therefore, the living with a contrary view could not dictate how he would be buried.

“The plaintiff did not call any witness let alone an expert witness. The plaintiff claimed the deceased was of unsound mind, incapable of deciding to convert to Islam. The fact of his mental state is scientific which required an expert opinion to be provided. It was not done. From the above the court is satisfied the deceased was converted to Islam. He lived and practised the Islamic faith. He attended the mosque, observed the fast and openly dressed as a Muslim. He deserved to be buried as a Muslim,” said Obulutsa.

In the case, Bakari told the court that Charo verbally professed the Shahada before witnesses and lived openly as a Muslim. He further told the court that Kazungu had been shown a video of her son wearing a kanzu, seated in the mosque and reading the Holy Qur’an.

According to the Imam, he learnt the recitation and observed the fast of Ramadhan.