Shock as man resurfaces at his funeral in Homa Bay

Residents of Got-Miaha village in Kabondo Kasipul were on Saturday shocked after a 38-year-old man they were preparing to bury appeared in his funeral.

The family of Kennedy Ogweno Olwa had picked a body from Homa Bay County Referral Hospital mortuary last Friday for the burial at their home in Ramba.

Olwa is said to have left home 20 years ago for a fishing expedition in Lake Victoria. He initially settled around Mbita in Suba North constituency.

He was last seen at Alum beach in Karachuonyo constituency five years ago. Area chief Joseph Ndege said a friend informed Olwa’s family that he (Olwa) died during a tragic fishing expedition and that his body was recovered and taken to the mortuary by police.

Ndege said the family moved to the morgue and verified the body and confirmed it was their son. “The ceremony stopped and mourners ran to different directions after the man they wanted to bury appeared moments before the body was lowered to the ground. Mourners left the bereaved family with the dead body,” Ndege said.

The administrator said the family had been running funeral and burial announcements on local and vernacular radio stations.

“We collaborated with police and returned the body to Homa Bay morgue after mourners who thronged the home left,” he said.

Ndege urged residents whose relatives have disappeared to report to police.

(edited by Peter Obuya)