BY SAM ALFAN.
A Nairobi Court has stopped a burial of top prosecutor who was found dead in his house in Nairobi.
Milimani Principal Magistrate Edgar Kagoni issued order restraining Chiromo Funeral Palor from releasing the body of Fredrick Ashimoshi Shitambasi for burial, pending the determination of a case filed by a woman claiming to be his wife.
“A temporary order of injunction is hereby issued restraining the 4th Respondent(Chiromo Funeral Palor) from releasing the body of the late Fredrick Ashimoshi Shitambasi to the 1st and 2nd Respondent (Elikana Sakali Shitambashi and Jennifer Mwvinamo Shitambasi) for burial,” ruled the court.
The court directed the application be served to all parties for hearing.
Lawyer Purity Nyawira Mureithi moved to court seeking to block the burial saying the former prosecutor has been her husband since 2009.
The woman claims that she wedded Ashimoshi on December 12, 2009 at Friend International Centre Ngong Road sanctifying their traditional Marriage into a statutory marriage under the repealed African Christian Marriage and Divorce Act, Cap 151 of the Laws of Kenya.
She says they have lived together as husband and wife in Nairobi cumulatively for 20 years and they are blessed with three children who are now adults.
Lawyer Nyawira says she heard that she was informed of his death on July 25, 2022, at Pioneer Estate House No.32, where he was residing.
She says the cause of death and exact time of death are yet to be ascertained.
“It is within my knowledge through my advocate on record Shadrack Kinyanjui Wambui’s visit at the 4 th Defendant’s facilities on the July 28, 2022 that I was informed that the body of the deceased is booked at the 4th defendant’s facilities by the 1st, 2nd defendants and Augustine, an officer acting on behalf of the 3rd, defendant (OCS Buruburu police station) by Shadrack Kinyanjui Wambui,” she adds.
The woman says she has since been informed that Elikana Sakali and Mwvinamo have performed a postmortem examination on the body with involving her as the rightful widow.
She adds that prior to the death, they lived in a six Bedroom matrimonial house no 433 at Diamond Park 1 estate Likoni Road off Mombasa Road in Nairobi and they had a pending marital dispute and a divorce case before a Nairobi court.
Nyawira says the case is yet to be concluded but she is still legally married to Ashimoshi.
“It is within my knowledge that upon the demise of the deceased, the 1 st and 2nd Defendants/ Respondents alongside other relatives without any colour of right or justification, proceeded to the Pioneer Estate House No.32 where they have set camp and the 1 st and 2nd Defendants/ Respondents have purported to conduct and proceed with the burial plans at the Shinyalu home of the deceased, without including me whatsoever as the legal wife of the deceased, and neither our biological children from participating in the burial rites of their father,” she adds.
