Residents of Kineni in Borabu constituency witnessed a bizarre incident as a family was on Tuesday forced to suspend the funeral of their loved one after a group of youths demanded to be paid Sh250,000 that the deceased allegedly owed them.
The deceased, Mr Kemori Miyienda, reportedly owed New Kineni Youth group the amount since last year when he borrowed, promising to return it with interest.
Speaking after the aborted funeral on Tuesday, the group’s chairman, Dickson Mokong’u, defended their move and accused family members of failing to honor their calls after releasing the documents to support their claims.
“It wasn’t our intention to interrupt the funeral but he (Kemori) borrowed Sh200,000 and it had accumulated by Sh50,000. We reported the issue moments he died but the family members dismissed us. All we want is justice and the police have cooperated with us,” he said.
According to Mr Mokong’u, officials of the money-lending club were not ready to carry the burden and demanded an immediate payment by the family members.
“This is a group of thirty people and as officials; we are not ready to carry the burden. If the family refuses, then we will be heading to court to seek an order barring them from burying their loved one.
Family spokesperson Abuga Ontiri accused the group of acting ‘immaturely’ since the family had not refused paying the debt.
“This is complete immaturity. We have not refused to pay the debt and it is dishonest to force us to suspend the funeral. It’s the community that decides when to bury the deceased hence the burial should have been respected. We have definitely incurred losses since all plans were in place,” he said.