Residents of Gem, Siaya county, were shocked when Prof. Richard Alex Nyabera Magoha’s wife failed to appear at his funeral.
While Janet Achieng’s husband was being laid to rest in Siaya, she and her two children, Crystal Sara Aloo and Ashley Agnes Atieno, stayed in the US.
As the coffin of the late Nyabera left towards Yala township elementary school in Urim village, curious locals could not contain their disappointment as they chattered incessantly in low voices.
Bonfas Magoha, his son, however, gave a presentation of the family.
The locals, who requested anonymity, claimed that Achieng’s decision to skip her husband’s funeral was a grave disappointment because custom called for the surviving spouse to be present.
According to rumors, Achieng, who is from Ugenya, purposefully missed the funeral so she wouldn’t have to attend her in-funeral law’s on February 11, 2023.
While some elders believe it was improper to bury Alex in a new home when his parents’ home was still standing, Luo custom dictates that the house is built with the woman present and that couples create their houses together even while they are still married.
At their residence, known as Simba, Richard had left a little house.
James Riaga, chairman of the Siaya Council of Elders defended Achieng’s actions noting that it was against tradition for a wife to the deceased to get into a new home that she was not part of.
“If the new home was being established, the wife to the deceased ought to be present. In fact, Nyabera was to be buried next to his parents at their home since he had not established his own home,” Riaga stated.
“Even if it is a deserted home, they would have traced a site where the parents were buried for him to be laid to test next to them. That’s what the Luo tradition demands,” he added.
Riaga further emphasized that the widow would look for a male from the family lineage (Shemeji) to assist her in building a dwelling after the deceased was laid to rest at their home.
Barbra Odudu Magoha, the late Prof. George Magoha’s widow, did not attend her in-funeral law’s either.
John Obare, Magoha’s eldest brother, mentioned in his eulogy of his brother that his sister-in-law and family were unable to attend the event owing to unforeseen circumstances.
“Let the gathering know that the wife to Alex Nyabera whose parents have attended the burial in number know that she is not with us and the reason is best known to her,” he stated.
Obare added that the grave and new house of Alex was built by Prof Magoha.
“Our brother Alex left Kenya for the USA a long time ago and spent his entire life there and our brother the late Prof. Magoha took up the initiative of building him a new house in a separate land,” he added.
The Magoha family has also urged Kenyans to remember them in their prayers as they navigate these challenging times.
The last-born brother of Magoha, Joseph Ongile Magoha, and Obare both emphasized the need for prayers for the mourning family.
Speaking at the same event, Ongile dispelled rumors that their brothers’ deaths weren’t entirely natural.
“I don’t believe in speculations from certain quarters that their deaths are caused by some people. I believe God’s time is the best. So it’s only prayers that we need from Kenyans especially now that we are burying Alex and preparing to lay to rest former CS Magoha,” Joseph said.
“He taught us compassion, resilience and to love one another. We are heartbroken that he is no longer with us,” he added.
The deceased’s sister Mary Magdaline Owuor reiterated the need for prayers while eulogizing her late brother Nyabera.
“We appeal to Kenyans to put us in prayers. He (the deceased) told us to always thank God for everything before seeking other favours from Him. My brother Nyabera had requested the family to remain united,” she said.