Court allows mum of slain singer Wandeto to bury her remains

Sarah Njeri, Rachel Wandeto's mother, during a court session in Kerugoya law courts on June 10, 2026/ ALICE WAITHERA

A Kerugoya court has allowed the family of slain gospel artiste Rachel Wandeto to take her remains for burial, bringing to an end weeks of uncertainty and a bitter legal battle over who had the right to lay her to rest.

In a ruling delivered on Thursday, resident magistrate Harrison Kariuki granted an application filed by Wandeto’s mother, Sarah Njeri Wandeto, and ordered Montezuma Monalisa Funeral Home to release the body to the family pending the determination of the main suit.

The court also issued a temporary injunction barring Peter Njaramba, who had claimed to be Wandeto’s husband, from accessing, collecting, removing or burying her remains.

The magistrate found that Njaramba had failed to provide sufficient evidence to prove the existence of a customary marriage with the deceased, despite claiming that a traditional ceremony had taken place in 2013.

 “The court is therefore unable to conclude from the material presented before it that the respondent has established a valid Kikuyu customary marriage on a balance of probability,” Kariuki ruled.

In the ruling, the court noted that no records of dowry negotiations, proof of dowry payment, photographs or independent documentary evidence had been presented to corroborate the alleged marriage.

Kariuki further held that while Njaramba had fathered two children with Wandeto, paternity alone was not proof of a valid customary marriage.

The court dismissed a preliminary objection filed by Njaramba, who had challenged the court’s jurisdiction and argued that a similar matter was pending before a court in Kenol.

The magistrate said the respondent failed to produce sufficient material to demonstrate the existence of the alleged parallel proceedings and therefore the plea of sub judice could not stand.

The court found that Sarah Njeri’s claim as the biological mother of the deceased outweighed the unproven claim of marriage and consequently gave her family authority over the burial arrangements.

Following the ruling, family members expressed relief, saying the decision would finally allow them to accord Wandeto a dignified send-off after weeks of anguish.

Wandeto’s uncle Joseph Kimaru said they welcomed the court's decision and were ready to proceed with burial plans.

“We celebrate the ruling because it will now allow us to bury Rachel. There were no customary steps taken to marry her and that is why the family has the right to take her body for burial,” he said.

Kimaru said the family had initially planned to bury Wandeto on May 28 but the burial was halted after Njaramba obtained court orders stopping the plans.

The abrupt turn of events left mourners gathered at Kerugoya Stadium stranded as the dispute over the burial site and funeral funds escalated.

Lawyer Kiguru Kahiga, who represented Wandeto’s mother, said the court had carefully considered the evidence presented by both sides before arriving at its decision.

“The court was categorical that although Njaramba is the father of the two children left behind, that itself was not enough to prove he was entitled to the body,” Kahiga said.

He said the court agreed with the family’s evidence that no customary marriage had been conducted and therefore Njeri remained the person legally entitled to bury her daughter.

The ruling comes weeks after the death of Wandeto, whose killing shocked the country and sparked widespread calls for justice.

The gospel singer died on May 18 while undergoing treatment at Kenyatta National Hospital after she was attacked and set ablaze by unknown assailants in Nairobi’s Mwiki area.

Investigators said she suffered extensive burn injuries after being doused with a flammable substance and set on fire while heading home.

A postmortem examination later established that Wandeto sustained severe burns covering about 85 per cent of her body and succumbed to complications arising from the injuries. Detectives subsequently took over investigations into the killing.

As the family prepares to lay her to rest, attention now shifts back to the ongoing investigations into her death, with relatives continuing to demand justice for the musician whose life was cut short in a brutal attack.

Ends

Instant Analysis

The court found that Sarah Njeri’s claim as the biological mother of the deceased outweighed the unproven claim of marriage and consequently gave her family authority over the burial arrangements.

Following the ruling, family members expressed relief, saying the decision would finally allow them to accord Wandeto a dignified send-off after weeks of anguish.