•Through lawyer Patrick Lutta, the two say they are not opposed to the DNA testing but they want the court to order Wangui and her medical experts to collect samples from Murunga’s remains before November 24.
•They have also asked the court to have Wangui provide security in the sum of Sh10 million to cater for funeral expenses and fees for cancellation of services.
Image: COURTESY
The two widows of the late Matungu MP Justus Murunga have filed an application in court seeking to set aside orders stopping them from conducting his burial.
Chistabel and Grace say since the demise of their husband, they have been making funeral arrangements and at no time did Agnes Wangui-his, alleged mistress- inform them she had any relationship or children with Murunga.
They claim the order issued by Magistrate Agnes Makau on Thursday is disruptive as the burial is set for November 28 in Matungu, Kakamega County.
“It is regrettable that Wangui did not contact any of us with a view to having her concerns addressed instead of proceeding to court. This has painted our late husband and us in a bad light,” they say.
Through lawyer Patrick Lutta, the two say they are not opposed to the DNA testing but they want the court to order Wangui and her medical experts to collect samples from Murunga’s remains before November 24.
They have also asked the court to have Wangui provide security in the sum of Sh10 million to cater for funeral expenses and fees for cancellation of services.
This they say will act as a condition of maintaining Makau’s order. “Great expenses have been incurred by the National Assembly in terms of preparation and preservation of the deceased's body which will be cancelled if the burial does not proceed,” they say.
Wangui moved to court on Wednesday and successfully obtained order stopping the two widows from conducting the burial.
The order was granted after she told the court that she is apprehensive there may be concerted efforts by the two widows to lock her and her children out of the burial arrangements and the actual burial.
Through lawyer Danstan Omari, Wangui said she had been in a relationship with the lawmaker for seven years. They have two children, a boy, seven, and a three-year-old girl.
“Our first encounter was in 2013 when he was a supervisor at Embakasi ranching, while I was a businesswoman engaged in selling beverages and snacks within Sewerage area, Ruai," she said.
Wangui said shortly after they began a romantic relationship and out of the said union they were blessed with their first child and Murunga rented a house for her in Ruai.
The relationship according to the court documents started hitting rock bottom in 2017 when Murunga won the Matungu Parliamentary seat.
But the two widows say Wangui and her children are not known to them and it will be great loss in the event the burial doesn’t proceed and it later turns out Wangui’s claims are false. “Murunga did not tell us about Wangui and her children. And due to the existing Covid-19 guidelines, bodies of deceased persons are disposed off at the earliest opportunity,”
The widows say they are aware that the Public health Department has instructed that the deceased must be interred not later than November 28.
Its for that reason that they want their application heard immediately so that funeral arrangements are completed and the body interred by November 28.