A court in Eldoret has issued an injunction preventing the burial of police officer Vincent Kiplimo due to a dispute between his widow, Carolyne Mumbua, and her in-laws.
Mumbua sought the court’s intervention after learning that her in-laws intended to bury the deceased in Kibendo, Keiyo, Elgeyo Marakwet, rather than at their matrimonial home in Uswo, Uasin Gishu County.
She has filed a lawsuit against her mother-in-law, Elizabeth Yator, and brother-in-law, Hosea Korir, for excluding her from burial arrangements.
Senior Principal Magistrate Onkoba Mogire has ordered the two, along with their agents, to refrain from collecting the body from the Iten morgue until the court has resolved the matter.
In her affidavit, filed through Nyamwega Osoro and Company Advocates, Mumbua claims she cared for her husband at Real Hospital in Eldoret until his death on August 20, 2024. She alleges that while she was grieving, her brother-in-law demanded that she hand over all documents and bank details belonging to her husband.
Mumbua asserts she did not comply with this request due to her shock at her husband’s passing. She also claims her brother-in-law attempted to access the deceased’s shares at Harambee Sacco, stating she would not benefit from his estate.
She argues that her in-laws want to bury the deceased in Keiyo Kapendo, ignoring his matrimonial home at Uswo, without involving her in the process. “They have made burial arrangements without her, despite her being the spouse of the deceased,” her affidavit states.
Mumbua further claims that the in-laws’ plan to bury the deceased in Elgeyo Marakwet and sell his matrimonial home would leave her and their four children homeless. She has been married to the deceased for 18 years and argues that the in-laws’ actions are causing her significant distress during her mourning.
In response, the in-laws contend that Mumbua obtained the court order by withholding crucial information. They claim the injunction is based on false allegations regarding her status as the deceased’s spouse and assert that the Uswo land belongs to the deceased without her proof.
Yator states in her affidavit that she and her son, Hosea, are the deceased’s next of kin, being his mother and brother. While Mumbua claims she cared for her husband in the hospital, Yator alleges that Mumbua did not visit, and only her children attended to him.
Yator argues that Mumbua was merely a girlfriend, not a legal spouse, and that her actions to claim the body from the Iten morgue and insist on a burial on disputed land are unlawful. “Her actions are malicious and could bring misfortune to the family, as the deceased cannot be buried by someone who was not his wife,” Yator states.
The in-laws also assert they have already spent Sh500,000 on burial preparations and Sh150,000 on building a house for the deceased in Elgeyo Marakwet. They seek to have the orders issued to Mumbua overturned, claiming they were obtained through an abuse of the court process.
The hearing is ongoing, with Mumbua’s four children present in court yesterday. At the time of his death, the deceased was a Corporal stationed at Gekonga Police Station in Migori County.
