A pastor who also happens to be a clan chairperson testified in court on Tuesday saying that the children of late James Mburu Kinani who have since disagreed on his final resting place were excluded from the decision-making process regarding his burial site.
Peter Chomba told Commercial Court Magistrate Gerald Gitonga that the children of Mburu’s first wife, Phillis, were left out after the initial meeting was cut short due to a dispute between step children.
Chomba further said the decision to bury Mburu was made after a video was presented by Geoffrey Nganga, showing the deceased instructing where he wished to be laid to be buried.
However, Chomba was put to task by Lawyer Danstan Omari to explain the author of the video but he could not explain only saying he saw the late Mzee saying he wanted to be buried in Gilgil and not Muranga.
When questioned about why he included absent members in the committee’s approval of the burial site in Gilgil, rather than in Gatanga, Chomba claimed they had confirmed their consent by attending the meeting.
Omari also questioned how Chomba was a pastor and at the same time a practicing traditionalist who believed in tradition and faith simultaneously to which he said he is only the clan chair.
He also stated that Mburu had instructed his close circle during his lifetime to be buried in Gilgil.
In the dispute, the first wife’s children in Gatanga have clashed with the second wife’s children in Giglgil on where he should be buried with both insisting he should be buried at the respective homes.
The hearing is scheduled to continue on April 15, 2025, with more witnesses expected to testify
