The husband of late KCB senior executive Rosemary Chemutai Kimwatu has withdrawn a case he filed against his in-laws over her burial, saying he will leave the matter to God.
Kevin Migwe Kimwatu, through his lawyer Ramadhan Abubakar, told the court on Monday that he would not pursue an application seeking the exhumation of his wife’s remains.
He also abandoned plans to institute contempt proceedings over the burial, which took place at Chemutai’s parents’ home in Chepseon, Kericho County, on Friday night.
Kimwatu had moved to court after accusing his in-laws of excluding him from the funeral arrangements despite being Chemutai’s husband and the father of their four children.
The court had on Friday issued interim orders stopping the removal and burial of Chemutai’s remains without Kimwatu’s involvement.
However, the orders were overtaken by events after Chemutai was buried later that evening.
Kimwatu was then left with the option of seeking the exhumation of the body, but his lawyer told the court that he had decided against pursuing the matter.
His decision, the court was told, was aimed at creating an opportunity for the two families to reconcile.
Kimwatu has instead asked to be allowed to visit his wife’s graveside with their four children and other family members.
His in-laws, through their lawyer Felix Kiton, said they had no objection to the request.
Kiton told the court that the family had no grudge against Kimwatu and that he remained their son-in-law while his children with Chemutai remained their grandchildren.
“Kevin, who is the father to Chemu’s children, we have no grudge with him,” Chemutai’s family said, according to Citizen Digital.
The family said the place where Chemutai was buried belonged to her and, by extension, to her children, including Kimwatu’s children.
The burial dispute had pitted Kimwatu against Chemutai’s parents over where she should be laid to rest.
Kimwatu wanted his wife buried at his ancestral home in Matasia, Ngong, Kajiado County, while her parents wanted her buried at their home in Chepseon.
Kimwatu had told the court that he had been sidelined from decisions surrounding his wife’s final send-off.
The couple married in 2013 and had four children.
Chemutai was a senior executive at KCB and died aged 40.
Her parents later proceeded with the burial despite the court orders, saying they only became aware of the orders through the media.
The family also explained that the decision to bury her at night was influenced by Kalenjin cultural practices.
With Kimwatu withdrawing the case and abandoning the exhumation and contempt proceedings, the court closed the burial dispute.
