To be cremated. My guess is those were his wishes. Someone is asking if this is the new way of denying people food in funerals

We won’t allow Ken Okoth’s body to be burnt, vow Luo elders
By George Odiwuor
July 31st, 2019 4 min read

A faction of the Luo Council of Elders has opposed the cremation of the body of the late Kibra MP Ken Okoth saying it offends Luo customs.

The elders say they will not allow the MP’s body to be burnt.

Mr Okoth’s European wife Monica and the MP’s younger brother are pushing for the cremation of the body. According to the two, it was the MP’s wish to be cremated.

But the Luo council of elders said cremation would be against Luo customs.

Mr Ongadi argued that Okoth is a son of the Luo community whose burial arrangements must conform to the local culture.

“I was told that the late MP would be burned to ashes. This is against Luo customs and any Luo should not dare think of it,” he said.

I want mine inside 24 hours. Those who wish wakuje na chakula Yao. Toothpicks will be available though.

This guy was truly a great leader. This article was written in 2013 when he had just been elected. He had a vision of what he wanted to do and he went ahead to do just that.

https://www.nation.co.ke...4976-je4hfqz/index.html

Arabs (who happen to be muslims) adopted that custom of burying someone before sunset because of the high temperatures in the arabian desert that quickly degraded the body. They also wrapped the body in shukas instead of using coffins coz of lack of wood in the desert. Just like they use carpets coz there is no wood for furniture eg chairs and tables. Should I also mention they use water to clean their a$$es coz of lack of suitable plant leaves (eg maigoya AKA Plectranthus barbatus) or wood to make tissue paper in their localities.

But for Okoth case, with current embalming technology to preserve bodies, there is no need to rush. Let people have time to mourn him and perform any rites that they may wish.

Arabs (who happen to be muslims) adopted that custom of burying someone before sunset because of the high temperatures in the arabian desert that quickly degraded the body. They also wrapped the body in shukas instead of using coffins coz of lack of wood in the desert. Just like they use carpets coz there is no wood for furniture eg chairs and tables. Should I also mention they use water to clean their a$$es coz of lack of suitable plant leaves (eg maigoya AKA Plectranthus barbatus) or wood to make tissue paper in their localities.

But for Okoth case, with current embalming technology to preserve bodies, there is no need to rush. Let people have time to mourn him and perform any rites that they may wish.

A fresh controversy has rocked Ken Okoth’s family as a second ‘wife’ emerged with his five-year-old son.

The Star has established that the woman, a Jubilee-nominated MCA, approached Okoth’s family on Tuesday evening and demanded that her son be recognised before his ‘father’ is interred.

The family was meeting on Tuesday at Silver Springs Hotel along Vallely Road with the ODM leadership to give funeral details.

The son, whose pictures with Okoth have been shared online, is well known among Okoth’s close circle and family members.

The MP’s European widow, Monica, is said to have got wind of the boy and opposed the idea of publicly recognising him. She and Okoth had no biological children but adopted three.

A source, who accompanied Okoth to Tetu, Nyeri county, to meet the woman’s parents, said the existence of the boy was an open secret known to both Okoth’s and the woman’s parents.

"Both the paternal and maternal grandparents have met the child and have lived with him for days. Ken loved the son very much and there is nothing in question," the MP’s confidant said.

Okoth and his secret lover are said to have met in 2011 while the woman was working as a nurse at the Aga Khan Hospital, Nairobi, before she was nominated to the county assembly during the 2017 General Election.

At one time, the MP is said to have stayed together with the woman at a house along Ngong Road in Nairobi.

The revelations came just hours after Okoth’s mother Angelina Ajwang’ warned that her son did not father any child outside of her marriage with Monica.