George Kebaso
The maternal family of the late Kibra MP Ken Okoth on Sunday buried a banana stem to signify his burial a day after his cremation in Nairobi.
The ceremony that took less than 20 minutes was conducted at Ogenga village in Kabondo Kasipul, Homa Bay, where Okoth’s mother Angeline Ajwang’ settled after separating with her husband the late Nicholas Obonyo in 1993.
The body of Ken Okoth was cremated at the Kariokor crematorium early Saturday, but his mother skipped the event.
Ajwang’ is said to have been opposed to the cremation, saying she would have wished to see the grave of her son.
But according to Okoth’s widow, Monica, the MP wished to be cremated.
Yesterday, Ajwang’ arrived at her home from Nairobi accompanied by a few relatives to perform the ritual of burying a banana stem as a way of according her son an “proper” send-off.
Family members, friends, church members and community elders comforted her.
A sombre mood engulfed the homestead as Okoth’s relatives broke into wailing when they were given his portrait to carry.
“Iwe wa malit kama Ken” (Ken why have you left us?) yelled Hellen Akinyi, a relative.
Journalists who had camped at the home were ejected from the event as the ceremony was private.
Okoth’s brother, Rashid Ongere, told the People Daily that the ritual was brief.
“We didn’t want publicity and that is why we locked the media out,” he said.
The ritual is normally conducted when a person dies but the body is missing. A shallow grave, less than foot deep, is dug and a banana stem buried in it.
Elders and clergymen conduct special prayers before the stem is lowered into the grave.
Elders plan
Earlier, members of a faction of Luo Council of Elders at the ceremony suggested that Okoth’s widow, Monica, be inherited by a male relative, preferably Okoth’s brother.
They also want Monica to perform traditional rites before she is inherited, including wearing her husband’s clothes during the mourning period. Twe chola rite requires a widow to wear the husband’s clothes for a period to be agreed on by the family.
Their chairman Nyandiko Ongadi said the widow should observe the rites soon after the burying of the banana stem.
“She was married to a Luo and, therefore, we expect her to proceed with the inheritance rites as per our culture,” he said.
In the event that the deceased’s clothes do not fit the widow, the elder said she is expected to put a mark in her cloth to signify that she is mourning.
Court orders
Drama has dominated Okoth’s interment. His wish was that his body be cremated, but the Luo Council of Elders would hear none of that. His mother also wanted to bury her son at her home, while his father’s relatives wanted him buried near his father’s grave.
And in Nairobi, Nominated MCA Anne Thumbi had secured court orders on Thursday stopping the burial, until her son, who she claims she sired with Okoth, was included in burial arrangements.
The orders were set aside the following day after the parties signed a consent, with Monica and Okoth’s mother allowing the MCA and her son to take part in burial arrangements.
However, she claimed she was excluded from the Saturday cremation ceremony. Ken Okoth succumbed to colorectal cancer on July 26 at the age of 41.
