Vihiga family blames county for five-year burial standoff

When Reverend Hezekiah Ondego, 84, died in 2020 in Mbale, Vihiga County, his family thought they would bury their beloved and finally find closure.

Ondego died during the coronavirus pandemic on November 11, 2020.

After completing all funeral preparations, the family was ready to collect the body from Mbale Mortuary for burial, as required during the pandemic when burials had to be conducted within 24 hours to prevent contamination and the spread of the disease.

To their shock, as they prepared to leave home to collect the body, a contingent of police officers stormed in with a court order barring them from picking up and burying the deceased.

According to the order, the family did not own the 2.4-acre parcel of prime land located behind the Vihiga County Headquarters, and the deceased could not be buried on the contested ancestral land where the family had lived for nearly a century.

Since then, Ondego’s body has remained in the mortuary amid an ongoing legal battle over land ownership. Tragically, his widow, Grace Imali, 81, later developed high blood pressure and died in May this year at the age of 82. The family blames her death on the prolonged dispute. Her body also remains in the Mbale Mortuary.

According to the couple’s last-born son, Philip Mavisi, the family are the rightful owners of the land. They are now seeking President William Ruto’s intervention so they can give their parents a decent burial. “This is our ancestral land. We have always buried our loved ones here. We are wondering how it suddenly changed ownership to the county government of Vihiga,” said Mavisi.

Mavisi explained that the dispute began in 2016 when St Clare’s Girls Secondary School planned to relocate several households to Mautuma, Lugari Constituency, Kakamega County, to allow for expansion. However, the project stalled due to financial constraints. Later, the defunct municipal council sought to relocate the same families to expand Mbale Market. Some families accepted the offer, while others refused.

“We were among the families that were to be relocated and we indeed accepted. However, when we went to Lugari to verify the land, we discovered it had a double allocation, as some families had already been given the same parcel. We therefore rejected the offer. Moreover, the land measured 1.8 acres instead of 2.4 acres,” said Mavisi.

He added that the county government later claimed ownership of the land, saying it had bought it from his father, yet no sale agreement or proof of payment was ever produced.

“We asked for the sale agreement, but the county government failed to produce, only stating it paid the late. We are wondering why the county failed to evict us,” said Mavisi.

In 2019, the county went to court and won a case declaring it the rightful owner, but the family was never evicted.

George Mavisi, the eldest son, suspects foul play. “Why would the county allow us to bury our mother but not our father? We see the hand of an influential person trying to grab the land. We have other families that relocated to Lumakanda, came back and are continuing with their affairs smoothly.,” he said.”

Margaret Ondego, sister to the late Rev. Ondego, said they no longer live in peace, having been sidelined by the community and viewed as a bad omen. “We are unable to attend other people’s burials or events. We are seen as a cursed generation,” said Margaret.

According to Samuel Lugare, International Coordinator for Maragoli Culture, Luhya traditions do not allow a woman to be buried before her husband when both have died.

“It is a taboo and a bad omen for the family and the community if a woman is buried before her husband. If it happens, the family is bound to face disaster, the spirit of the dead will haunt the remaining family members, the church, and the community for the rest of their lives, until cleansing rituals are performed by elders,” said Lugare. 

Vihiga Lands Executive Mike Iravo, told The Standard that he was unaware of the case and referred us to the County Attorney and County Secretary.

But the County Attorney Aggrey Musiega dismissed the family’s claims, stating that the issue had already been determined by the Environment and Land Court in 2015.

“Those families are crying foul while fully aware of the truth. Together with their deceased kin, Rev. Mavisi, they defied the notice served upon them back in 2015 to vacate the land. The Environment and Land Court dismissed their case and confirmed that the land belongs to the government,” said Musiega.

Interestingly, the County Attorney maintains that there is no problem with the burial of the late woman, as she was not part of the case involving her husband.