Man’s wish courts trouble for relatives

The accused persons with their lawyer MbiyuKamau (in a suit) shortly after they were acquitted bya Kigumo court, on Thursday.  [PHOTO: BONIFACE GIKANDI/STANDARD]

By Boniface Gikandi

KENYA: When Muguchia Wang’era, 84, breathed his last in June last year, his demise spun his entire family into a dilemma.

The elderly man had during his last days demanded a cow be buried alive, as a sign of dowry unpaid to him by his in-laws.

The deceased, all through his life had been demanding the family to which his sister Mariam Wanjiku is married must give him a cow as dowry.

The demand turned a reminder to the family, even as the deceased underwent treatment at Murang’a District Hospital. His kin say he kept on reminding them and insisting a live heifer must be buried next to his grave.

So when he died on June last year, the family had to obey.

Gikomora village in Murang’a County rose to instant fame when word went round and finally trickled to national TVs and dailies that the family had buried a calf to escape a curse.

Exhumed carcass

But the news did not go down well with animal rights activists and police. After the calf’s burial, police arrested several relatives, while livestock experts exhumed the carcass for analysis after obtaining a court order.

The accused were charged with conspiring to bury an eight-month-old calf, which is illegal. They were Miriam Wanjiku (87), Peterson Mwangi, Simon Mungai, Joseph Mburu, Samuel Kamau and Julius Chomba.

Yesterday, Kigumo Chief Magistrate’s Court was extraordinarily packed with residents to listen to the judgement on the matter.

And in his ten-minute ruling, Chief Magistrate Stephen Mbungi set the accused free, saying the prosecution failed to provide elaborate evidence implicating them to the actual burying of the female calf.

Mr Mbungi noted the prosecution witnesses only testified of having spotted the five accused driving the animal in the compound, although no blood was discovered to signify it was slaughtered as the law demands.

Two months ago, the court set free Wanjiku (87) after it found out she did not participate.

 Wanjiku is said to have been in conflict with the late Muguchia over the unpaid dowry.

The court accused the prosecution of failing to link the accused persons to the act. The accused strode back to freedom, even after escaping the ‘curse’ left behind by the elder.

During previous hearings, the prosecutor, Chief Inspector Anastasia Kitavi told the court the accused buried the calf alive to comply with the demands of the deceased.

Mbungi noted in his judgement that a chief present in the homestead of Muguchia during the burial saw the accused driving a calf into the compound but when he returned back after a call of nature, he found it had been buried.

Father’s wrath

After the prosecution closed its submission two months ago, the court released Miriam Wanjiru, who is a daughter to Muguchia, who reportedly caused his father’s wrath over the unpaid dowry by her in-laws.

“The chief was the first prosecution witness and he was in the compound but he failed to identify those who buried the animal alive, thus contradicting the evidence as nobody witnessed the actual offence,” said Mbungi.

But family lawyer Mbiyu Kamau put up a spirited defence, drawing conflicts between traditions and modern practices.

Mr Kamau said the judgement in the particularly unique criminal case that attracted immense public attention had become an eye opener, that animals too have rights that must be respected.

“The case is a clear pointer of existing conflicts between customary law and modern practices. But now the public has learnt that animals also have rights just like human beings,” said the lawyer after the verdict.

After the judgement, family members burst into celebration, saying it had marked an end to their suffering. They said they had spent money attending court and engaging a human rights lawyer to represent them.

Mungai, one of the accused, hailed the ruling saying the family was traumatised. “It is a great day. The court has set us free to focus on other activities,” he said.