Drama as Mourners Chase Away Health Officials, Exhume Body of Kenyan Woman Who Died of Covid-19 for Viewing

Drama unfolded at a cemetery in Eldoret on Friday after irate mourners exhumed the body of a woman who allegedly succumbed to Covid-19. 

The 32-year-old woman had been buried at Eldoret’s Kiplombe public cemetery by a group of health officials donning hazmat suits, according to reports. 

As the health officers drawn from Uasin Gishu County government prepared to leave after completing their task, a group of mourners threatened to exhume the body saying they wanted to pay their last respects to the deceased.

Despite the health officials warning them against the move, the group took advantage of the absence of police, drove away the health officials, and exhumed the woman’s body while chanting ‘hakuna corona Kenya.’ 

“Hakuna corona Kenya, na wanataka kuzika huyu mrembo ni kama alikufa na hiyo ugonjwa,” one mourner shouted.

After exhuming the grave, the mourners removed the polythene paper wrapped around the casket and opened it to view the deceased’s remains in an exercise that lasted about 30 minutes. They claimed she “loved us genuinely, and, on several occasions, bought us alcohol.”

Reports indicate the woman worked at an agrovet in Eldoret town and was popular among residents. They later lowered the casket into the grave and filled it with soil as the deceased’s family watched from a distance.

The incident comes days after the Health Ministry announced it will review burial protocols to get rid of ‘men in white’ after new research backed by the World Health Organization (WHO) revealed that bodies of Covid-19 victims are not as infectious as previously thought.