A section of the family of the late Mburu Kinani has filed a Notice of Appeal seeking to stop his burial, arguing that the High Court erred in allowing documents they say were never properly filed to influence the outcome of the case.
Through lawyer Danstan Omari, Joyce Muthoni Mburu and her siblings maintain that the disputed papers were not uploaded to the Judiciary’s e-filing system as required by the Electronic Case Management Practice Directions of 2020, and therefore should not have been admitted.
Omari points out that admitting such documents undermines procedure and denies them a fair hearing.
In her affidavit, Joyce said that proceeding with the burial before the appeal is heard would cause irreparable grief to the biological children of the deceased. She added that although it is un-African to keep the body in the mortuary for long, justice must take its course.
The appeal challenges a judgment delivered by Justice Helene R. Namisi on September 16, 2025, which directed that Mburu be buried at his farm in Gilgil, Nakuru County, next to his late wife, Magdalene Waithera Mburu.
Judge Namisi set aside an earlier Milimani court decision and placed responsibility for the burial on Geoffrey Ng’ang’a Mburu, Alice Wambui Mburu, Rosemary Njeri Kirika, Regina Muthoni Mburu, and Patrick Karanja Mburu, who are the children from the second family.
She further directed that all family members, including the first family, Ides Wairimu Mburu, Joyce Muthoni Mburu, Hannah Wanjiku Mburu, and Antony Kinani Mburu, be allowed to participate in the burial arrangements.
“The burial shall be conducted in a manner that respects the deceased’s faith and heritage, with the specific arrangements to be led by the Appellants, who shall accommodate the participation of the Respondents,” the court ruled
The judge also ordered that the burial should respect the deceased’s Christian faith and Agikuyu traditions, and directed AIC Kijabe Hospital to release the body to the family. Each side was told to bear its own legal costs.
Despite this ruling, the burial has once again stalled as the dispute heads to the appellate court, leaving the family divided and the body of Mburu Kinani still at Kijabe Hospital months after his death.
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