A section of Luo Council of elders had wanted the Late Kibra MP Ken Okoth’s widow to go home in company of the deceased mother and participate in the rituals to be conducted at their maternal home in Kabondo Kasipul Constituency before she is inherited, which she did not do.
The Elders led by Nyandiko Ongadi said that Okoth’s widow Monica Okoth was required home in the accompany her mother in law Anjeline for the rituals to cleanse her, before they identify a brother in law to inherit her in accordance with Luo cultural norms.
Mzee Nyandiko said that according to Luo traditions, a widow who is still in a reproductive age must be inherited by her brother in law, identified by elders and members of the family to take care of her and the children.
Speaking to KNA on phone, Nyandiko said that the widow was expected to come home to bury a banana stem or a trunk of a tree locally known as Yago to symbolize the body of Okoth which was cremated in Karioko Nairobi on Saturday.
Nyandiko reiterated that the ritual must be performed because cremation of the body was against the Luo culture and Okoth is now counted as a lost son who died and has not been found.
The elder argued that Okoth was a Luo son by birth and therefore traditional rituals needed to be conducted to cleanse his family members.
Okoth’s mother Anjeline Anayo went back home in Kabondo Kasipul to lead the family members in burying a banana stem or ‘yago’’ to symbolize her dead son, Ken Okoth.
The cremation of the late legislator on Saturday divided the family as his widow Monica and his brothers supported the decisions, while the mother and the extended family members opposed it and did not attend the cremation ceremony.
By Godwin Ochieng and Davis Langat
