A court in Eldoret court has ordered a doctor to bury his wife who died two months ago.
Dr Patrick Mutoro, the medical superintendent in charge of Webuye Subcounty Hospital, had declined to bury his wife Florence Chai.
The body has been lying at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital.
The medic was sued by his mother-in-law Gladys Chai.
She wants Mutoro to bury the remains because her daughter was legally married to him according to Luhya traditions and customs.
“Under to our customs it will be a taboo for me, a parent, to bury my daughter who was married yet her husband is alive,” she said.
Mutoro had vowed not to bury Florence.
He accused her of violating their customs by removing one of the three cooking stones in their matrimonial home.
“This implied she had declared we were divorced,” Mutoro had told the court.
He also argued that the deceased was previously married to another man, who also has equal rights to bury the body.
Gladys, however, told the court that her daughter had two children with Mutoro.
The children also testified and asked their father to bury their mother.
Eldoret resident magistrate Diana Milimo ruled that documents and evidence presented in court indicated that Mutoro and Florence were legally married.
“This court has established they were man and wife. The defendant has a legal obligation of burying her,” Milimo said.
Gladys was represented by lawyer Geoffrey Okara.
She said her daughter needs a decent send off.
“Let him bury her so we can end this matter and allow her spirit to rest,” she said.
Gladys asked the court to declare the marriage between the two legal.
She also asked that Mutoro compensates her for medical costs for her daughter’s treatment.
The magistrate ordered Mutoro to pay all medical and mortuary fees.
He was given 30 days to appeal the judgment.
Lawyer Moses Esikuri for Mutoro said his client was not satisfied with the ruling.
He will appeal, Esikuri said.