The body of a Kenyan man who died in the US will now be brought back home after well-wishers assisted the family following a report in the Star.
Wilfred Ojwang’, 40, died suddenly in Pensylvania in May and a row erupted between his estranged wife and his family in Kenya over his body.
Days after he was found unresponsive in his car amid the sweltering summer heat, his former wife Virginia Hendrick contacted his elder sister Evelyne, giving the family 10 days to raise Sh1.7 million for shipment of the body.
Hendrick threatened to have the body cremated if the family could not raise the money.
After the Star highlighted the plight of the distraught family, the estranged wife softened her stance, allowing them to seek help from the public to raise the sum.
But Evelyne recounted that the former wife renewed her feud, claiming the body was no longer in a good state to be shipped to Nairobi because it had badly decomposed.
“She had initially said she would not chip in even a cent and we respected that. But now that we are working hard to raise the cash, she is claiming the body can’t be shipped. Why?” she said.
The family had contacted the morgue where the body is preserved and was assured it is safe.
But after the latest outburst from Hendrick, the morgue now claims the body was kept in a cooler rather than a freezer and has started decomposing.
“They now claim my brother’s body can’t be moved here yet the morgue had initially assured us that because it was destined for international shipping, they would preserve it well,” Evelyne said.
Amid the push and pull, the family has managed to raise enough funds to fly the body back to Kenya.
They have wired the money to the morgue and preparations are under way to bring the man’s remains home.
Ojwang's 74-year-old mother is determined to see the body of her son, however badly decomposed, and have him buried in Butula, Busia county.
“Kenyans and our friends in the diaspora were pivotal in helping us raise the money to ensure that our brother’s body is brought home. We just wanted to have our brother honoured even in death,” she said.
The family is still appealing for well-wishers help to raise the burial expenses.
“We are still appealing for help from Kenyans, who are extremely generous, to help us move the body once in Nairobi to Butula in Busia to and give our brother a decent send-off,” Evelyne said.
“We are asking well-wishers to help us raise the money and bring my brother home. It is for the sake of our mother who is 74 years old. If she sees the body, she will be peaceful. Wilfred was her hope.”
Evelyne's phone number is 0727899380.