Court tells parents of boy shot in Rongai protests to consider solving burial dispute by themselves

Mbita Law Court has directed the family of Kennedy Onyango, the 12-year-old boy who was shot during anti-tax protests in Rongai, Kajiado County, to consider alternative dispute resolution mechanisms as the first resort for solving their dispute.

Principal Magistrate Nicodemus Moseti asked Onyango's parents to agree and address their differences by themselves rather than letting the court settle the matter for them.

The parents Denis Okinyi and Jecinta Anyango disagreed on where their son should be buried.

Okinyi wants the boy to be buried at his home in Kisaku Village, Suba Sub-county.

On July 6, a procession was headed to Anyango’s home in Rusinga to lay the 12-year-old to rest, when Okinyi hijacked them, armed with a court order.

Okinyi, who is an ex-lover of Jacinta, moved to court to stop the mother from burying Kennedy in her second marital home.

The father told the court that his former wife had only lived with the child for one year as Kennedy was under his custody in earlier years.

On the other hand, Anyango accused her ex-lover of obstructing the burial after realising that the government was taking care of the burial expenses.

She says that all he wanted was to take charge of the contributions.

Kennedy’s body, which was heading for burial in Rusinga was taken to Suba Sub-County Hospital awaiting the court ruling on Wednesday.