A 27-year-old man was arrested on Wednesday after he was reportedly caught exhuming the body of his father at Maseno Village in Subukia, Nakuru County.
Patrick Mwangi Katonya was caught by members of public together with police officers at around 8:00 am while exhuming the body.
According to Nakuru Police Commander Stephen Matu, the suspect was after a pair of shoes that was part of his father Johnson Ndonye's attire during his burial in 2005.
Katonya reportedly wanted to sell the shoes which he believed would earn him a good amount of money. The shoes were, however, damaged.
“The suspect told the police that he wanted to sell the shoes. He waited for members of his family to leave the home before exhuming the body but the shoes were rotten," Matu said as quoted by Standard.
Police directed that Katonya be taken for psychiatric evaluation before being charged with disturbing the dead.
The Police Commander pointed out that exhumation of a body should only be conducted with permission from the court.
“It is wrong for anybody to exhume the dead. Such can only be done if permission is granted by a court of law. Investigations have, therefore, commenced after which the suspect will be arraigned," Matu said.
Family members of the deceased pleaded with the police to allow them hold prayers before they reburied the body.