Unwiped Tears: Stressed Baringo Granny Dies After Three Years of Failure To Rebury Her Late Son
-Her late son's Paul Kipchabas body still lies in Kabarnet hospital mortuary for three years now since his body was exhumed from his gravesute dug inside Koroto Secondary School compound in April 2021.
BY JOSEPH KANGOGO
Baringo widow granny, who has been fighting hard to rebury her son whose body still lies in the mortuary fridge three years now, suddenly passes on.
Targok Kipchabas, 89 from Koroto, Baringo North, had lived a miserable and stressful life since her son Paul Kipchabas, a retired police officer died of blood pressure-related illness March 22, 2021.
She succumbed to heart-related illness on Monday, the family spokesman David Rutto confirmed on Thursday.
"Earlier on, amid constant shedding of tears, she developed blood pressure, generating into a stroke, condition that paralysed her body having difficulty in walking, eating, and talking before passing on in a Nakuru hospital" Rutto said.
He further said the family will conduct a fundraiser at her home Koroto on Sunday to settle hospital bills and her funeral ceremony scheduled for Tuesday, next week.
While still alive, the late ganny, together with the grieving family, buried the body of their kin Paul near his temporary structure inside Koroto Mixed Secondary school compound, sparking deadly land dispute.
His body was exhumed on April 9 following a court order and is still lying at Baringo County Referral Hospital mortuary Kabarnet to date.
Since then, life especially healthwise worsened for granny Targok, who seemed to have exhausted her words pleading with government agencies both verbally and through media outlets requesting for release of her son Paul's body for reburial without, any avail.
"What have I wronged the government with the people of Kenya to deserve all these ridicule? all I want are the bones of my son I rebury in his grave, so my heart can relax. " Targok addressed journalists in her rickety grass-thatched home, Koroto, while still alive.
Deceased granny Targok Kipchabas in her rickety grass-thatched house in Koroto, Baringo North last year. Photo/ Joseph Kangogo
She said while alive, his son Paul was so dear to her life, "he was my only hope, although I have my other children, but my late son was so caring. He used to console, encourage, and bought food stuff for me. He had even purchased some materials ready to construct a good house for me before he died, " she said.
She said she has personally accepted the fact that Gods took his life, "but how his body remains mortuary mortuary disturbs my soul" she said.
The deceased man is said to have been engaged in unresolved land dispute with Koroto school school before falling sick and died of pressure-related illness.
According to the court ruling, the body of Kipchabas was ordered for exhumation, being termed nuisance to the learning in the upcoming public school.
But according to granny Targok's sentiments she maintained the ownership of the school land belonged to them.
"In fact, I gave birth to all my children while living on the farm," she said, further claiming two of her newborn children were buried in the disputed land.
The elderly window, however, accused some learned money- endowed individuals best known to her for taking advantage of her situation of being a poor widow to muscle out her children and grab their ancestral land in the name of constructing a school.
"It is my prayer that the school be moved to another designated place and my son's body be brought back to rest in his already dug gravesite, because I have never seen such demonic actions happen in all our past generations" she said.
However, Rutto, the family spokeman reiterated saying "it is like some people just paid off justice simply because we are a poor family but we still hope one day justice shall prevail and we will have our loved one given a decent send off" he said.
So far, the contentious Koroto Mixed boarding secondary school where the body of Paul was buried before being exhumed has been shut down indefinitely.
Nevertheless, the family still insist to have the body of their departed member reburied in his designated gravesite.
Image of the late Paul Kipchabas while still alive. Photo/Courtesy
"According to our Tugen culture, a respected human gravesite is strictly dug once, and nothing is done to change it whatsoever," Rutto said.
As a family they now plead with the relevant authorities to allow them to have the body of the late Paul reburied in his own grave so that the soul, together with his mum's, can rest in eternal peace.
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