Body of Kenyan man exhumed after he was buried by his lover without wife's knowledge

The body of a 71-year-old Kenyan man has been exhumed after it emerged that he had been buried by a woman who was not his lawful spouse.

The exhumation of Hudson Wanjohi Ndumia's remains conducted on Friday, June 25, was supervised by police. 

It was gathered that Ndumia died on May 10 and was buried on May 22 by his lover, who lives in Kagongo, Tetu Constituency in Nyeri County.

It is alleged the woman, who is in her 50s, presented a burial permit while collecting Ndumia’s remains from the Mathari Consolata Mission Hospital morgue in Nyeri County. Ndumia’s family would later learn that he had been buried without their knowledge.

According to informants, Ndumia, a native of Makuyu in Murang’a County, was living with his lover, a widow, at her home in Tetu, Nyeri County after he allegedly fell out with his wife. 

The deceased’s family last week learnt he had been buried by his lover, forcing them to obtain an exhumation order from the court.

The Nyeri Law Courts granted the applicants’ their wish on Friday, June 18.

The deceased’s brother, Samuel Ndumia, told The Standard they were now happy their kinsperson would be buried “at his rightful resting place”.

The exhumation was supervised by police. Ndumia’s family said they were suspecting he succumbed to injuries sustained during a domestic fight with his lover. 

"He had been hospitalised with burn injuries in his private parts. We suspect he suffered the injuries during a fight with the woman he was living with,” said Samuel Ndumia.

The family said they were waiting for autopsy to be conducted on Ndumia, when they learnt his remains had been collected for burial. 

"We wanted to know what killed my brother,” said Samuel.

Ndumia was a retired clinical officer, who worked at the Muranga and Nyeri county hospitals.

After the exhumation on Friday, Ndumia’s remains were taken to Mathari Consolata Mission Hospital morgue, where a postmortem will be conducted.

Ndumia is survived by a wife and four children; three sons and a daughter.