A family from Mukonge village in Mautuma location in Lugari Sub County got stranded in a shocking incident after the corpse they were ferrying to the morgue ‘stuck’ on the way, forcing them to return it home after a total of four vehicles that tried to carry it to the mortuary got stuck mysteriously.
According to Mr. Evans Avoga Odari, his uncle Kepha Abukusi died on Sunday morning at the age of 88 years and the family agreed to take his body to Chebaiywa mortuary as it goes on with funeral arrangements and also give his children time and close relatives who live in various part of the country to attend his burial.
He said their plans hit a snag after all the vehicles they tried using to carry the corpse developed mechanical problem and got stuck under unclear circumstance.
The nephew said the first vehicle developed mechanical problems while on the way heading to pick the body and its owner offered to help the family get another vehicle which could take the corpse to the mortuary but immediately after fueling it at a local petrol station it also developed mechanical problem and couldn’t reach the compound.
The family was forced to look for a third vehicle which managed to reach the deceased’s home and picked his body but after a distance of about two kilometres from compound it also developed mechanical problems.
“The vehicle arrived and we put the corpse in, prayed and started the journey well but on reaching Mukuyu, it developed mechanical problems,” said Avoga.
A fourth vehicle, a Nissan Matatu, was booked and picked the body to proceed with the journey to the mortuary but it too didn’t go far as it stopped abruptly after diverting at Stand Kisa junction as it headed towards Marakusi.
The Matatu could neither move in front nor back, forcing the family to remove the body and place it by the roadside.
A mechanic was called but couldn’t establish the problem. While still at the scene, it was also established that money which was supposed to be paid for the transportation of the corpse to the mortuary had disappeared mysteriously from the hands of the deceased’s daughter who was carrying it.
However, after a long deliberation between the family members who reached an agreement to take the body back home, everything seemed to move well. The vehicle could move normally, but more surprisingly, the missing cash was found in middle of the crowd of onlookers who had thronged the scene to get glimpse of the shocking episode.
The body which had spent nine hours outdoors was later returned home safely as the family commenced burial preparations.
Sources disclosed to West Media that before his death, the old man had requested his family not to take him to mortuary when he dies.