Drama ensued at Karurina village, Embu West, Embu County, on Monday morning after Mercy Wanja Nyaga stormed her alleged husband’s grave and uprooted the cross and wreath flowers.
Wanja angrily destroyed the grave of the late 69-year-old Simon Ndwiga Njoka, claiming that she and her three children were denied the opportunity to participate in their father’s burial.
According to Wanja, both families had agreed on Sunday to participate in the burial and meet at 9am on Monday to proceed to the mortuary together.
However, she was shocked to learn that the deceased had already been buried by 8am.
“We agreed to meet at 9am to go for the body. I was shocked to be told at the meeting point that the man was already in the grave by 8am. They denied me and my three children our right to bury my husband,” she said.
Wanja claims she and the deceased had three children together outside wedlock, but the family of his first wife allegedly refused to recognise her as part of the family.
The dispute had reportedly been addressed through a court order in case number MCCC/E205/2026, Mercy Wanja Nyaga Vs Eric Macharia Wawira and Juliana Gaturi, before the Embu Magistrate’s Court.
On October 29, 2026, Principal Magistrate R. G. Mundia ordered, by consent of the parties, that the deceased be buried at the family graveyard and that Wanja be allowed to participate in the burial.
The order, signed by Hon. Atieno Joan Otieno, also carried a penal notice warning of consequences for disobedience.
The first family, however, says it was forced to bury the deceased early after struggling to clear hospital and mortuary bills.
They claimed they had exhausted their savings and that Wanja’s family did not contribute towards the expenses.
“We had no extra money to prepare eulogies, book vehicles for transport or prepare meals, thus we buried him early in the morning to avoid more costs,” the deceased’s uncle said.
The deceased’s mother, Josephina Weruma, also maintained that she was unaware of any second family, saying she only learnt about Wanja and the children after her son’s death.
“I never heard him talk of a child outside. We learned about the children and the second wife after his death,” she said.
