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Khalwale, sons take lead in heaping soil onto wife’s grave as burial ends on emotional note
21st August, 2026 09:57 PM
Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale and his sons were among the first people to heap soil onto the grave of his late wife, Gloria Sekeiyan Khalwale, in an emotional final rite that marked the end of her burial ceremony.
Khalwale and his sons took part in the solemn ritual shortly after Gloria’s casket had been lowered into the grave, with members of the clergy leading mourners in prayers before the family began the final act of committing her body to the earth.
Dressed in full black alongside his sons, Khalwale stood beside the freshly opened grave as a reverend offered the final prayers for his wife, with the solemn moment bringing an emotional close to the ceremony.
After the prayers had been concluded, Khalwale picked up a spade and scooped soil into the grave, personally taking part in the first stages of filling the final resting place of the woman with whom he had shared his life.
The senator continued with the solemn task as emotions ran high among mourners who had gathered at the family compound in Malinya, Ikolomani, to bid Gloria a final farewell.
His sons then took up spades and followed their father, each taking turns to heap soil into their mother’s grave as the family began the difficult process of covering the place where she had been laid to rest.
The family members continued heaping soil into the grave, gradually raising the level of earth before other relatives and members of the community were allowed to join them in completing the burial rite.
Emotional ceremony
Gloria Sekeiyan Khalwale was laid to rest at the family home in Malinya, Ikolomani, Kakamega County, on Friday, August 21, 2026, with her husband and children sharing deeply personal memories of the woman they knew away from public life.
Speaking during the burial, Khalwale said the couple discovered through an ultrasound that Gloria was expecting twins. As a doctor, he said he decided against taking her to a hospital labour ward.
“I studied as a doctor. I said, this wife of mine has given me two children; should I take her to the labour ward so that she can be delivered by nurses?” Khalwale recalled.
“I refused,” he added.
Khalwale said Gloria would repeatedly remind him that she was carrying twins, telling him, “Twin, twin,” whenever she noticed his silence about the pregnancy.
When she eventually went into labour, Khalwale said he assisted her with the delivery at their Nairobi home while she was seated on a chair.
“I’ll miss the TikToks you used to send. I’m regretting why I didn’t use to watch them and pretend I’ve watched them,” she said.
Gift also remembered her mother’s love for beauty, fashion, perfumes and jewellery, while describing her as a woman with an “abundance mentality” who believed in sharing with others.
She said each of her siblings carried a different part of Gloria’s personality, creating a lasting connection to their mother even after her death.
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Steve Ireri
Steve is a senior writer with over four years of experience in digital journalism. His focus is on the showbiz and human interest stories. Emails: [email protected] , [email protected]
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