After spending 17 years lying in a mortuary, now Esther Nzakwa Kitivo has finally been laid to rest.
Nzakwa died in August 2007 when she was just 93 years old. Then, a land dispute ensued for the next 17 years as her body laid at the Machakos Funeral Home.
Her family has to offset a Ksh3 million bill at the morgue before picking up her body. She was buried under heavy police security.
Michael Musao Kitivo, her son described her mother as a woman who instilled discipline and good behaviour in them. She also ensured that they got an education.
Even she was finally laid to rest, the protracted court battle on land ownership was yet to be ruled upon.
One of her stepsons had objected to her interment in the family’s piece of land when she died in 2004. Her family said that she could only be buried at her home next to her husband who died in 2000 aged 100.
When the court gave consent for her interment after several failed attempts, her family held a fundraiser to clear her mortuary bill. Well-wishers contributed generously and she was finally laid to rest.