Tired of 'hard life', man burns house, digs grave, tries to bury himself

Residents of Eshironyanga village, Navakholo Constituency in Kakamega County were treated to drama after a 22-year-old man dug his own grave and demolished his house after beating his wife for being tired of a hard life.

Francis Chebuche, whose family says he uses drugs and illegal substances, had quarrelled with his wife before attempting to bury himself alive in a six-foot grave he had dug.

According to family members, the young man kicked his wife out after beating her, went to the nearest market centre, and bought his own casket with the clothes to put on for burial.

Curious residents followed Chebuche to his house but he chased them away with a machete and a knife. They ran to call the police.

The family led by his father Moses Andalo, said their son has been having constant quarrels with his wife due to what he said was his son’s drug abuse problem.

“We don’t know where his wife has gone but my son has bought his own coffin and dug a grave that he wants to bury himself in while still alive. We don’t know whether it is the drug substance he uses or he is possessed by an evil spirit,” said Andalo.

The father said the family is curious to see whether their son will make good on his threats to bury himself while still alive.

Adamant

He adds that they reported the case to the police but Chebuche is adamant about proceeding with his own burial preparations.

“We are waiting for him to come and actualise his threats; we are ready to help him. He has refused to calm down and in fact, he is asking us where are the police we went to report him to and that he wants to face them before completing his mission,” said the father.

According to his sister Maureen Kakai, her brother woke up very early in the morning shouting that life has become too hard for him and he wants to be left to go and “rest”.

“After causing chaos he chased away his wife arguing that life was difficult as he cannot sustain his woman. He started demolishing his house, took the measurement of his own grave, and proceeded to the market centre to buy a coffin and clothes he will wear to bury himself,” said Kakai.

She adds that her brother has been disturbing their parents, and called on the police to arrest him for threatening to kill his family members.

However, the community elders led by Meshack Oponyo say that Chebuche must undergo a ritual cleansing since it is a bad omen to the family for one to dig a grave and buy a coffin to bury himself while still alive.

“We have to conduct rituals by slaughtering a sheep and burying a piece of the banana stem in the grave so as to avoid a calamity that might befall the family. We have come to talk with the family about the ritual plans,” said Oponyo.