Kenya: The family of Meshack Yebei who was considered a critical witness at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the case against deputy President William Ruto, has given the government a three-day ultimatum to release the body of their deceased kin.
The family threatened to camp at Voi mortuary where the body is lying until it is released saying the government has shown laxity to announce DNA test results.
This is after the family conducted an independent test that proved to be positive ahead of the planned burial scheduled for March 14th.
Speaking for the first time to the Standard, Lazaro Kisorio 90 the father of the ICC witness said the results of the DNA tests taken to the government chemist had delayed and is creating anxiety within the family.
"Together with his mother and other relatives, we shall travel in buses to Voi mortuary and camp at the morgue on Wednesday to demand the release of the body of my son because the delay has been long," he said.
He added: "We want the whole world to know that despite our suffering and pain of losing our loved one in a mysterious manner, the government , 10 days later after taking samples has not released his body,"
The distraught father from Kaptebee village in Turbo constituency said the discovery of his son’s body gave him a lease of life but the current laxity has increased torment and added health complications.
"I have never slept since the disappearance of my son and the discovery of his body gave me hope that I will finally lay him to rest, but the government's slow pace has become a worry to me, why don't they expedite the process and let me bury him in peace?" he posed.
The mother Priscilla Kisorio who insisted the body lying at Voi Mortuary belongs to that of her son echoed similar sentiments.
"We shall not rest until we transport his body and later bury him at his home because he was our son and there is no need for the government to withhold it for long" she said.
Yebei's family last week sent DNA samples of the body lying at Voi to a private pathologist in South Africa that recently confirmed a 99.9 percent match to that of Yebei.
Reverend Moses Kisorio the eldest son wondered why the government would not want to corroborate the South Africa test results with their own and release the body to them.
"It is even ironical that during the identification of the body at Moi Teaching and Referal hospital mortuary that was later said to belong to Yusuf Hussein, the government chemist officials were swift to say it was a 99.9 per cent match, why is this not the case to our own," he posed.
"We do not trust anyone at the moment due to the pain and long process that the family has undergone since the disappearance of their kin," said Ken Wafula, a human rights activist based in Eldoret.
Earlier, John Kariuki a CID officer tasked with investigating the mystery of Yebei said he has no authority in the release of the DNA results.
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"For now we have to wait because CID and government chemists are separate entities, when they officially release it, we shall inform the family," he said.
Yebei disappeared on December 28 last year after he had taken his sick child to Turbo health Centrer.
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