Dead man walking: West Pokot man returns home to find plans for his burial underway

Residents of Kongelai in West Pokot scampered for safety when a man they thought was dead resurfaced during the planning of his funeral.

Kangrok Muriumeler, a livestock trader, was reported missing a week earlier after he failed to return home from his visit to Nairobi.

Vegetable vendors at Konglai market claimed a decomposing body was dumped near a market in the area and informed police officers who picked the body.

The residents claimed after identification, the family concluded it belonged to Muriumeler, and set out to organise for his burial.

One of the vegetable vendors, Nelly Pusha told The Nairobian she informed the police of the body which had been dumped in the locality.

“We experienced a strong smell for days before we informed other residents and upon investigations, we found a decomposing body resembling Muriumeler,” she said.

She said the family members had circulated information that he had gone missing after he took a herd of livestock for sale in Nairobi and never returned, adding family members identified the body and started funeral plans immediately.

However, speaking to The Nairobian, Muriumeler said the locals and his relatives thought he was dead and after arriving home, he was shocked to find burial plans were already underway. He said he took the time to explain to his family members that he was still alive, but still, they could not believe it.

“I was coming home from Chepareria market when I noticed the people I met on the way were acting strange and kept telling me “pole”. They told me friends and family members were mourning my death,” he said.

He added, “When I arrived from Nairobi, I didn’t go home right away. I went to Chepareria to see my friends and spent two days there.”

Muriumeler said that to his shock as he headed to his Kongelai home, he met boda boda operators who told him people were mourning his death.

“I had a hard time proving to them that I was alive. Some kept telling me that I had died, and it was my spirit that had visited them,” he said and called for cancellation of the burial plans.

Kapenguria OCS Lucas Wamocha said the unknown body was moved back to Kapenguria County Referral Hospital mortuary.

“The body is yet to be identified. The body had no injuries anywhere. It’s still intact but looks like it was dumped there after being killed elsewhere. We have circulated the information within our police network, but we haven’t received any information on missing persons,” he said.