Court asks family of Rongai boy killed in demos to solve burial dispute out of court

The family of the slain Ongata Rongai boy who a fortnight ago lost his life following an anti-government protest in the town has been asked by the courts to solve their differences using the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanism.

The court urged the family of Kennedy Onyango, the 12-year-old boy who was shot and killed to hold talks as the first resort to solving their dispute.

Mbita 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 Denish Okinyi and Jecinta Anyango disagreed on where their son should be buried. The two once lived together but separated.

While Okinyi wants the boy to be buried at his home in Kisaku Village in Kaksingri West Location in Suba Sub-county, Anyango wants her son to be interred at Kamasengre in Rusinga island.

A photo of 12-year-old Kennedy Onyango who was killed in Ongata Rongai during anti-government protests. (Photo/Handout)

Magistrate Moseti asked the parents to talk and agree on a suitable place where they would bury their son.

The process will begin Thursday before a deputy registrar in charge of mediation.

Mortuary concerns 

Humphrey Obach, the lawyer representing Anyango, decided to raise concerns about the condition of the Suba Sub-county Hospital Mortuary where the body of Kennedy is preserved.

In his view, the condition of the mortuary is not good for preserving the body if the dispute is to be prolonged.

"Judging by what led to the death of the boy, I prefer the body to be taken to a private mortuary where services are better and the body can be in a good state when the matter is determined and the body set for burial," Obach said.

He first proposed that the body be taken to Med 25 Kirindo mortuary which is located along Mbita- Homa Bay Road.

But the father of the deceased opposed this saying he is not comfortable if his son's body is preserved elsewhere.

The two warring parties finally agreed to transfer the body to Rosewood Mortuary in Rongo Town in Migori County.

A section of relatives of the two parents of the deceased boy during the hearing of the dispute. (Photo: Barack Oduor)

The court directed that the body be transferred under the watch of the police.

"The OCS in Mbita will supervise the process. Both parties are at liberty to view the body but are not allowed to take it until the court determines the matter," the magistrate said.

Lawyer Sam Owino who represented the late boy's father revealed that the father will take care of the mortuary bills in Sindo since he was the one who sought court orders for the body to be there.

The court was also told that the mother would take care of the fees used to move the body from Suba to Rongo.

She will also make a deposit at Rosewood when the body arrives there.

However, the parties disagreed on who would pay the entire mortuary bill in Rongo when the case is determined.

The court determined that the decision would be made once the family got to know the cost of preserving the body.

During the court session on Wednesday, security was reinforced when other family members accompanied both parents.