The court on Monday halted the burial of Milka Moraa Ongubo, a retired nurse and former Chief Inspector of Police, following a heated dispute among her children over funeral arrangements.
Senior Resident Magistrate F. Terer sitting at the Milimani Law Courts issued orders temporarily stopping the removal of the deceased’s remains from Umash Funeral Home in Nakuru until the matter is heard inter partes on October 1 2025 .
This is after her children Julia Kemunto Ongubo, Joyce Kerubo Ongubo, and Jackson Momanyi Ongubo sued their siblings Justus Morara Ongubo and Judy Kemuma Ongubo for excluding them from burial plans.
Through lawyer Danstan Omari, the applicants argued that despite being their mother’s primary caregivers for over a decade, they were sidelined from decisions, including the publication of an obituary and the fixing of a funeral date .
In their affidavit, the siblings claimed that Justus, who resides in the United States, secretly removed their mother from her Langata home last month and concealed her whereabouts until her death on 21st September 2025.
They further allege that the announcement of her passing came via a family WhatsApp post, with no medical report or post-mortem shared.
They told the court that the unilateral burial arrangements including a vigil scheduled for 2nd October and interment the following day in Nyamira were discriminatory, unjust, and contrary to their cultural and constitutional rights. They also sought a joint post-mortem to establish the actual cause of death .
Magistrate Terer ordered Umash Funeral not to release the body of the late until further orders of the court.
According to court papers, Justus announced their mother’s passing in the family WhatsApp group, attributing it to a cardiac arrest, but provided no medical report or post-mortem results.
The grieving siblings say they were shocked to discover burial preparations in the newspaper obituary of 28th September, adding that their deliberate exclusion is unjust, discriminatory, and contrary to their cultural and constitutional rights.
“The deliberate exclusion of the applicants from the burial preparations of their own mother is unjust and undermines their right to accord her dignity in death,” the affidavit reads in part.
The late dedicated 32 years of service at the Ministry of Defence Memorial Hospital before retirement.
