Meru court awards Sh1.5m to widower forced to spend night with wife’s corpse

Charles Mwenda, the man who spent a night in the rain with the corpse of his wife, Faith Mwende at Kianjai Police Station in Meru County. May 22, 2020. [Courtesy]

The Meru high court has granted a 32-year-old man Charles Mwenda Sh1.5 million in damages following an incident in May last year. 

Mwenda was transporting his wife’s body to Meru for burial but was forced to spend the night at Kianjai police station with the corpse on grounds that he was flouting Covid-19 containment measures by travelling past curfew hours.

Charles Mwenda put the casket of his wife Faith Mwende under an abandoned truck at the Kianjai Police Station yard where he was dropped by a police van after the 30 mourners including his mother and children were turned back at the Keeria roadblock in South Imenti on Thursday, May 21, 2020. (Courtesy)

Meru High Court presiding judge, Justice Edward Muriithi, while making the ruling said the treatment was degrading.

“An order is hereby issued that the actions by the police under the national police service headed by the first responded violated the provisions of the constitution under articles 3,4,10, 19,25, 28 & 29 and thus infringed on the rights to dignity, protection against torture and cruel, inhuman degrading treatment of the petitioner under the bill of rights of the constitution of Kenya 2010. There will be an order therefore for compensation for Sh1.5 million as general and exemplary damages against the first respondent for violating the petitioner’s constitutional rights,” ruled the judge.

Charles Mwenda with the Malindi Methodist Church bus on one of their stops while bringing the body of his wife for burial to Tigania West Meru. Mwenda had to spend a night in a police station yard under an abandoned truck. May 21, 2020. [Courtesy]

Mwenda’s lawyer Vivian Wambulwa while welcoming the ruling hailed the judgement noting it will be a deterrent to the police against inhuman treatment of civilians.

“We welcome the ruling and it is a precedent set. We hope it is a lesson to the police moving forward to desist from applying excess force,” said the advocate.