Divided in death: Ex-Treasury employee’s family set for parallel funeral ceremonies

 

The family of the late Naftal Onderi Ontweka, a former Director of Budget at the National Treasury, is set to hold two separate funeral ceremonies on March 8, 2024. a year after his death.

The deceased passed away on April 19, 2023, at the Nairobi Hospital following a short illness; and due to a protracted court case between his paternal family and his wife and children, he will finally be laid to rest by his wife and kids.

The division further played out when both factions published two separate obituaries in a local daily, with the paternal family’s obit.

“The family of the late Mzee Lazaro Ontweka Mogunde invites relatives, friends, and residents of Bomachoge Borabu to a memorial service to commemorate the life of the late Naftal Onderi Ontweka. Community, cultural, religious, church entertainments and leaders’ speeches will be conducted at his father’s home in Kiango on Friday, 8th March 2024 to remember the several families, groups, schools, and churches that the late Onderi supported,” read the obituary from the deceased’s paternal family.

However, the obit published by his wife and children included his larger family and clan. It extensively mentioned his wife, their four children, his parents and siblings, uncles and aunts as well as his in-laws, cousins, nephews, and nieces. The obituary concluded by mentioning that the deceased’s burial will take place on March 8, 2024, at his Kamulu home in Machakos County.

The late Onderi was an aspiring politician who vied for a Parliamentary seat in the recent election.

Since his death, his body had been lying at the Lee Funeral Home in Nairobi as his widow and children faced off with the deceased’s brothers and the larger clan.

The court case stems from a battle over where the late Onderi was to be laid to rest.

His brothers- Elisha, Stanley, and David- filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal against Ms Zipporah Masese Onderi after the Family Court had initially allowed her to bury him at their Kamulu home.

The siblings argued that it would be against their traditions for him to be buried elsewhere and not where his ancestors were interred but the widow said it had been the deceased’s wish to be buried in Kamulu. The widow went on to win the court of appeal case despite the clan already preparing a grave for him and building a house for the deceased next to it at his rural home.

By Winnie Mabel