Homa Bay: Father of Boy Shot Dead during Protests Goes Berserk as Court Hands Body to Mother

 

Principal Magistrate Martha Agutu and Denis Okinyi, the father of Kennedy Onyango, 

Jacinta Anyango, the mother of 12-year-old Kennedy Onyango, who was fatally shot during anti-government protests in Ongata Rongai, expressed relief after the Mbita Law Court ruled that she has the right to bury her son. Principal Magistrate Martha Agutu clarified why Denis Okinyi, the father of Kennedy Onyango, will not be permitted to bury his son. Dennis Okinyi filed the case on Tuesday, July 4, after claiming to be Onyango's biological father. Okinyi was seeking judgment towards who should bury the body of Onyango between himself and Anyango. Why was Onyango denied chance to bury son? 

Mbita Law Court Principal Magistrate Martha Agutu ordered the deceased's body to be handed over to the mother for burial.  "In pursuit of fairness and natural justice, I dismiss the plaintiff's claim, and I make the order that the deceased body be and is hereby released to the second defendant (Jacinta Anyango) for burial, and number two, the second defendant shall coordinate with the plaintiff in making the funeral preparations of the deceased person," Agutu read the ruling. 

The magistrate provided reasons that rendered Okinyi ineligible to claim Onyango's body, pointing out that he had abandoned the boy following his separation from his mother in 2012. The court also determined that the father failed to provide evidence of his marriage to the deceased's mother and did not prove he paid six cows as bride price, as he had claimed under Abasuba customary marriage law.  Additionally, the court found that Okinyi no longer has a house, as the one on his parents' compound had been demolished long ago. 

The court was directed to a different compound where the plaintiff's older brother had built a house, while a small house next to it was identified as belonging to the plaintiff. "From the foregoing, it is apparent that the plaintiff concealed material facts, and his credibility is therefore questionable," Agutu further read. Why did Okinyi stage protests outside court? Following the court's ruling on Friday, October 11, Okinyi expressed dissatisfaction by staging a protest outside the Mbita Law Court. He disagreed with the decision and clashed with security personnel in the area while demanding the return of Onyango's body.

 Police fired tear gas canisters to disperse family members accompanying Okinyi, some of whom attempted to force their way into the court's registry.  The deceased minor was scheduled for burial in Rusinga, Homa Bay County, but Okinyi secured an injunction to halt the burial, claiming the body as his own. Okinyi was seeking orders from the court to bury the slain boy in Rang'wa within Homa Bay County. The body has been at the Rosewood Nursing Home Mortuary in Rongo, Migori County, following a court order for its transfer. 

by  Florence Owiti Faith Chandianya