In a dramatic turn of events, the burial of prominent Kitengela-based lawyer Obadiah Mutahi has been halted by a Nairobi court following an application by his wife, Jane Wamuyu, and son, Maina Mutahi. The court order, issued on Tuesday, suspended the burial scheduled for Wednesday pending a hearing before a Nairobi Magistrate Court.
Mrs. Mutahi, currently residing in the USA, has requested a postmortem to ascertain the cause of her husband’s sudden demise. The couple, married for 27 years after a wedding at Nanyuki PCEA church in 1997, has two adult sons also living in the USA.
The legal action filed by Mrs. Mutahi through her Kenyan lawyers targets Ms. Esther Waithira Kamiti, St Paul’s Hospital, Halisi Hospital in Kitengela, and Montezuma Funeral Home where Mutahi’s body is held. The urgent application seeks to prevent Ms. Kamiti from claiming the body for burial and demands the release of medical records and Death Notification from the hospitals.
The court has temporarily barred the release of the body and set a hearing date for April 22 to address the family’s dispute over the burial arrangements. The case sheds light on a poignant family conflict amidst the loss of a respected legal figure in the community.
This legal battle over the final rites of Obadiah Mutahi underscores the complexities that can arise in the aftermath of a loved one’s passing, revealing a poignant struggle for control and closure in the face of grief and uncertainty.