When the dead cannot rest over kin's fight for burial rights, property

A decent burial right is a wish for all humanity after breathing their last, but not for British Tycoon Harry Roy Veevers, who has stayed in the morgue for over 12 years as the polygamous family fights over the right to bury him.

Harry’s case is just one of many whose bodies have remained at the morgue as the families fight over who has the right to bury, who gets what share of the multi-billion estates, and when a hidden family pops up demanding recognition.

For Harry, he died on February 14 2013, from cardiac arrest and was buried immediately in accordance with Muslim rites by his second wife, Azra Din, who was also Muslim.

He was later exhumed after three years on April 26 2013, following allegations by his sons Philip Veevers and Richard Veevers that Din had poisoned their father.

Philip and Richard were from Harry’s first wife, Florence Marvia, whom he divorced in Britain and married Din before relocating to Kenya with her in the 1980s.

Harry and Din had sired two daughters, Hellen Veevers and Alexandra Veevers, with who he stayed with in his palatial home in Nyali, Mombasa County, until his death on the Valentines’ day of 2013.

With Harry’s exhumation, his children and wives engaged in a protracted legal battle characterized by an inquest that lasted for 11 years, passing through nine magistrates and one judge.

On August 2025, Senior Resident Magistrate David Odhiambo absolved Din from any foul play in the death of his husband and ordered the release of Harry’s remains from the Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital (CGTRH) to the family for resting at a place of their choice after paying sh2.6 million morgue fees.

“I hope and pray that this ruling marks the beginning of closure and that the deceased finally gets to rest in peace in the afterlife. May Roy Veevers find rest in eternal peace,” said Odhiambo.

The magistrate said that nothing done or not done by Din could have been said to be harum-scarum enough to be considered the cause of death of the deceased,” said Odhiambo.

He noted that Din, having lived with Roy for 36 years, knew or considered him a Muslim and opted to organise his funeral without conducting a postmortem.

“She did this not knowing she would carry the burden of being a murder suspect. No evidence has been adduced to confirm her as one,” said Odhiambo.

The magistrate said that due to the level of decomposition and the conflicting reports by the pathologists, government chemist and other experts, the cause of death of Harry remains unknown and as such, nobody can be called to answer any charge.

“The investigations relating to the death of the deceased are hereby considered closed unless and until new information comes to light,” said Odhiambo.

However, Odhiambo declined to rule where the body will be buried and directed the families to resolve the issue of burial in another forum, noting that Harry never left a will stating where his preferred place of final rest would be, a fact that Odhiambo said leaves many families in limbo.

Despite the courts finally pronouncing itself and allowing the late tycoon to be buried, his decomposed body still lies at The Coast General Referral Hospital (CGRTH).

Richard and Philip seek to bury their late father at his ancestral land in the UK, while Hellen and Alexandra are fighting for his remains to be rested in Kenya, where he had relocated and settled after selling off all his properties in the UK.

Hellen and Alexandra's lawyer said that the late Roy had sold all the properties in the UK and moved to Kenya, where he settled with Din whereas Richard and Philip claim their late father's remains should be taken to his homeland in UK, where they shall decide with his kin.

Borrowing from other courts’ decisions, Harry’s body rightfully should rest with Din, the wife with whom he spent 36 years of marriage with in Kenya.

In 2010, former Chief Justice David Maraga ruled that a widow or widower accrues rightful ownership to bury his or her deceased spouse.

Justice Maraga said the wishes of a deceased as to where to be buried and other circumstances override the wife or husband's right to bury their spouse in their matrimonial home.

In the same breath, in June 2025, Senior Principal Magistrate Peter Ndege ruled that a wife has the basic right to bury her husband.

Ndege’s ruling emanated from a burial dispute between Jeniffer Kemuma, who wanted to bury her husband Benson Momanyi at their matrimonial home in Nakuru whilst Momanyi’s five brothers wanted him buried at his ancestral home in Kisii according to Kisii custom.

The magistrate said the core and basic unit of a family is the nuclear family and Kemuma, being one, has the right to bury the husband as recognised and upheld by the state.

On August 17 2020, a Kenyan woman and an Australian woman got embroiled in a legal battle to bury a man they both claimed to be their legally married husband.

Akinyi Zaituni and Pauline Winter asked the court in Mombasa to release the body of Herman Winter, an engineer who worked at Wilson Airport, for burial in Kenya and Australia respectively.

Herman’s body had been preserved at Jocham Hospital in Mombasa County following the court orders.

According to Akinyi, she reserved the right to bury Herman, with whom she claims she married under the Luo Customary law and sired a child with him.

“Until the demise of my husband, we lived together at Kileleshwa in Nairobi, but he died in Ukunda in Kwale County late last month, and I would love to bury my husband as his rightful wife and proceed with succession of his estate,” said Akinyi.

However, Pauline insisted she was the rightful wife of the late Herman, having been legally married for over 50 years and blessed with a son.

Pauline told Chief Magistrate Edna Nyaloti that she was shocked to hear that his late husband had another woman and had sired a child with her.

She said that his husband, an aircraft engineer, had been working in Kenya at Wilson Airport and used to stay at the home they bought in Ukunda.

She said that she stopped visiting Kenya after being diagnosed with cancer, but Winter continued staying in Kenya.

“I was married to Winter for 50 years, and all this time I did not know that he had married another woman and sired a child with her. I pray that I be given the body of my husband so that I can carry out his final wish to be cremated and have his ashes spread in the Amazons” said Pauline.

She told the court that her husband used to visit her at least three times a month and there was no indication that he had sired outside or married someone else.

“I am aware that he used to live in the home we bought in Diani Ukunda while we used to visit Kenya together. He had told me that in Nairobi he only stayed in apartments or guest houses,” said Pauline.

She said that her husband had not in any way sought to dissolve their marriage and they were happily married.

“I was diagnosed with cancer, and that is when I stopped coming to Kenya, my husband was enjoying his pension in Kenya while helping out in an aviation company,” said Pauline.

According to Edward Winter, son to the deceased, his father never mentioned even once about having another child in Kenya despite their close relationship.

“When I got information that my father had passed away, I contacted the Australian Embassy for arrangements for the cremation, and that is when I was informed that there was a lady who had deposited documents alleging that she was his wife and that they had a child together,” said Edward.

Nyaloti ruled that Akinyi was not a wife to Herman and only had an intimate relation with the deceased that led to the birth of a minor.

“The body of Herman Winter be released to Edward Winter and Pauline Winter for disposal. The plaintiff (Akinyi) was not a wife but had an intimate relation with the deceased that led to the birth of the minor,” ruled Nyaloti.

In June 2019, Justice Evans Makori, formerly Mombasa Chief Magistrate, allowed a woman from Lesotho to bury her husband at their matrimonial home in Nairobi against her in-laws' will, who want to bury their son back at their ancestral home in Rabai, Kwale County.

Neo Lekatsa Baya filed a petition seeking the court’s intervention to bury the husband, Dr. Clyde Baya Kijana, after her in-laws stopped her from retrieving the body from the morgue.

Baya’ young brother Rophas James Baya and his cousin Peter Gichuchu sort to bury Kijana in accordance with the burial traditions and customary laws and rites of the Mwamoni Clan.

The family alleged that if their son is not buried at Rabai, it will bring a curse to their clan.

Neo said she was married to Baya back in August 27, 1980, under civil marriage, and they were blessed with three boys, aged 35, 33, 28, and a 17-year-old girl (deceased).

However, Kijana’s brother James said that the late brother told his sisters and young brother that he did not want his children and wife at the funeral over woes he had undergone in their hands.

“That I was hiding these things from you for a long time, but I was not relating well with my wife, who also influenced my children to misbehave towards me and mistreat me. I have been denied food; I have not been happy with them most of my life for their mistreating me,” read a verbatim statement of the late Baya to his sisters.

In March 2025, a daughter and his step father obtained court orders stopping her biological father from burying her mother after allegedly stealing her body from a morgue in Mombasa.

Michael Lewа and her stepdaughter Nyevu Charo filed an application to stop Jefa from burying her mother, Saumu Muruna.

Nyevu said that her biological father only cohabited with her late mum and that Michael had legally married her under the Duruma  Customary law, qualifying him fit to bury her wife.

Senior Resident Magistrate Lucy Sindani stopped Jefa from burying Muruna pending determination of a suit.

“During her lifetime, my mother expressed to me and other close family members that it was her intention to be buried at the home of Lewa since he lawfully married her, paid dowry and was recognised by our relatives,” said Nyevu.

In 2025, the late patriarch Francis Kimoso's eldest son halted the burial of his brother Korir through a court Injunction over a succession battle of a Sh1.5 billion estate.

Kimoso’s son blocked his siblings from burying their brother Korir, whose body remained stuck in a morgue for an extended period while the family dragged each other through court over prime farmland, company shares, and bank accounts.

For the family of the late Patrick Muriuki, they arrived from the mortuary in July 2026 with his body only to find that a relative had secured a last-minute court injunction over a land ownership dispute.

The relatives had filled the grave with soil and planted it with banana stems to prevent the interment.

Equally, the burial of Late Businessman Gerishon Kirima took time as the first wife’ children and the second wife battled it out over who legally held power over his life, his body, and his multi-billion shilling real estate.

Billionaire John Gakunyi's funeral was equally halted after the second wife claimed to be pregnant with his third child when he fell into a coma.

Gakunyi's older children obtained an injunction a day before his burial, leading to his grave being planted with banana stock.

For former Nakuru Nominated Member (MP) of Parliament Philip Kamau, his burial was halted after a woman claiming to be his second wife emerged with her children to contest the funeral arrangements organised by the first family and demanded recognition and inclusion in both the funeral program and the eventual  distribution of his vast real estate.

The late Matungu MP Justus Murunga's funeral was delayed for weeks after Agnes Wangui moved to court claiming to have been his long-term partner with whom he had sired two children.

DNA samples were extracted from the MP to verify the children's paternity and the dispute later moved to the succession phase.