William Chepkut's widow moves to court to stop burial

The widow of former Ainabkoi MP William Chepkut wants his burial scheduled for tomorrow stopped.

Milka Chepkut accused Chepkut's relatives of locking her out of her husband's burial arrangements.

In her application, filed at the Milimani Law Courts, she called on the court to order Lee Funeral Home not to release the politician's body to his relatives.

Speaking at her lawyer Danstan Omari's office in Nairobi, Milka said she and Chepkut wedded in church in 1998.

"We lived together, and had two sons, until 2010, when my husband stopped coming home, only to learn he had an affair. He sired four children with two other women in the course of our marriage," narrated Milka.

The body of former Ainabkoi MP, William Chepkut arrives in Eldoret town ahead of service at his home. pic.twitter.com/KHSxRzMCDI

She said she built and sustained businesses with her husband but was barred from accessing some of their properties.

"Whenever I tried to access the Marriot which I own jointly with my husband, they would call the police and lock me up," she claimed.

"My husband got kidney failure and was sick for a long time, until his sister donated a kidney.

"He got better but his health deteriorated in 2017, during the campaign period, because he would forget his medicine, not eat the recommended foods and not get enough rest," she said.

"In 2020, he developed knee problems, and his siblings felt I was not a good enough wife. They brought a "house help", while I was working on our businesses in Eldoret. I later learnt she was playing the role of a wife, so I kicked her out," said Milka.

Chepkut moved out and went to live with the woman. He had surgery, which Milka believes affected his health.

"From then, he started collapsing often during campaigns. During campaigns, my late husband used to go for injections in the morning and evening to control these episodes. On the day he fell sick in his house, the driver took him to hospital but he died on arrival," she said.

Milka said she has been excluded from the burial arrangements.

"The committee is meeting away from my house in Westlands. If they're mourning in another person's house, who will comfort my children and me?" she posed.

She claimed that she and her son were arrested and locked up on Friday during the Requiem Mass "for being a nuisance".

After the incident she contacted her lawyer Omari.

She said is worried about the future of her two children because most of her family's property are in the hands of the politician's relatives.

"That having locked out the applicant from the burial arrangements of her late husband, the applicant has a well-founded apprehension that if the deceased is buried without involving her, her children and herself will not be able to give the last respect to her husband and their father due to the current hostility from the relatives," Milka said in the application filed by Omari.

Nicholas Chepkut, Milka's son, called on the State to intervene and stop the intimidation meted out to them.

"The applicant is apprehensive that these are plans to disinherit her from the estate of the deceased," Omari said.

The Standard reached out to the family's spokesperson, who denied the allegations, saying Milka has been involved in all funeral plans and even chose the coffin for the deceased.

"In the eulogy, we've indicated Milka as the only wife, and listed all the children, including the four born out of the other relationships. She just has issues that existed between her and the late husband," he said.

Milka fears the court redress will be overtaken by events as the body will be flown to Eldoret on Monday, October 17. The burial is slated for Tuesday.

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