Kennedy Onyango: A boy killed by bullet and ex lovers’ scramble for gravesite

As the dust was yet to settle on whether Kennedy died after a gunshot from rogue police, or from a rogue protester as stated by President William Ruto, tragedy befell his family on Saturday as mourners led by her mother Jacinta Anyango were heading to Rusinga Island to lay him to rest. 

The mourners were intercepted in Mbita town by a group led by Kennedy’s father Denis Okinyi, who were armed with a court order stopping the burial of Kennedy in Kamasengre village. 

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

Now, Jacinta  is left with is the burial burner, 200 burial programs and sample of wreath flowers that were meant to colour the burial day that never was.

Behind her tears, Jecinta is asking for government intervention to let her burry her child, stating that Okinyi was an absentee father, whose name does not appear in Kennedy’s birth certificate. 

She claims that Okinyi only appeared after realising that the government was taking care of the burial expenses and that all he wanted was to take charge of the contributions. 

85 Kms from Rusinga island, at the foot of Gwasi hills, Okinyi's larger family is gathered to plan for the burial of Kennedy. 

Okinyi claims that his former wife had only lived with the child for one year as Kennedy was under his custody in earlier years.

He claims that he was blocked from viewing the child’s body in Nairobi, only to realise that burial was to take place in Rusinga. Hence his decision to move to court to stop the burial. 

Kennedy’s body now lies in Suba Sub-County Hospital, awaiting a court ruling on July 17, 2024. 

On Saturday, news of halting Kennedy’s burial attracted uproar from the public, with police being accused of frustrating the family. 

This prompted a statement from Inspector General Japhet Koome, who clarified that police were only complying with the court order. 

“Apparently, the Civil Suit No. 0028 of 2024 filed at Mbita Law Courts ordered the police to move the body to Suba Sub-County Hospital Funeral Home for preservation, and the OCS Mbita Police Station complied with the order,” Koome noted.