Widow’s ordeal: Beaten, humiliated, and shoes buried with husband

A Nyamira widow has come forward to share the brutal ordeal she suffered at her late husband's burial, where she was physically assaulted and publicly humiliated.

Mellen Mogaka recounted how she was attacked on March 21, 2025, in Kiambere, Mwongorisi, after refusing to take part in a traditional burial rite.

The custom required her to throw soil into the grave of her deceased husband, Joseph Osoro, a boda boda rider who died in a road accident.

Mogaka, who had traveled from Narok County for the funeral, said the ordeal began the night before the burial when she was locked in a room with the coffin.

"I was locked up in a room with the coffin containing his remains. I spent the night with the body," she told the Daily Nation.

The next day, as the burial ceremony progressed, her in-laws forced her toward the gravesite, demanding that she comply with the custom. When she resisted, a group of men pounced on her.

"I tried to resist, but I was assaulted and beaten up. They insisted that I should throw a handful of soil into the grave as a sign of goodwill to the deceased," she said.

Mogaka described how the attack intensified as the men turned violent.

"I was kicked, beaten, and even my shoes were thrown into the grave and buried with the body," she recounted.

She attempted to escape by running into a nearby tea plantation, but her attackers caught up with her and dragged her back.

"They roughed me up, and I sustained injuries. I don’t know why they harassed me," she added.

Before the attack, Mogaka had asked her cousin to bring her children to witness their father’s burial. However, her late husband’s relatives confronted her, insisting she participate in the ritual.

"They confronted me and demanded that I must pour soil into the grave," she said.

Among the Abagusii community, this burial practice is considered a widow’s final act of respect to her husband. Some believe it is a way of binding the widow to the deceased and discouraging her from remarrying.

The attack has drawn condemnation from various groups, including the Kenya Women Parliamentary Association (KEWOPA), the National Gender and Equality Commission (NGEC), and the Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) Kenya, who have called for justice.

KEWOPA Chairperson MP Leah Sankaire, described the attack as unacceptable and called for swift action against those responsible.

"Such acts of gender-based violence, rooted in harmful cultural practices, must be denounced in the strongest terms. Justice must not stop at arrests; the perpetrators must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," Sankaire said.

Police have since arrested three suspects in connection with the incident, but KEWOPA insists more action is needed.

"This case must set a precedent that violence against women, regardless of cultural justifications, will not be tolerated," Sankaire added.

NGEC Chairperson Rehema Jaldesa linked the attack to widespread gender-based violence enabled by cultural norms.

"Harmful cultural practices like this persist due to fear of stigmatization and ostracization. These oppressive traditions blatantly contravene the Constitution and international human rights standards, which mandate gender equality and non-discrimination," Jaldesa said.

She urged communities to abandon such traditions and embrace lawful ways of resolving cultural disputes.

FIDA Kenya condemned the assault as "heinous" and called for stronger efforts from law enforcement, community leaders, and cultural elders to eliminate such practices.

Meanwhile, the three men accused of the assault were arraigned before a Nyamira Court on Tuesday, March 26.

The suspects, Robert Sarudi, Bismark Sarudi, and Lameck Osoro appearead before Senior Resident Magistrate Beryl Achieng under a miscellaneous application.

Their lawyer argued that the three were not seen in the video and urged the court to direct investigators to apprehend the actual culprits.

The court ordered the suspects to be remanded at Nyamira Police Station, with the case set for mention on April 1, 2025.