Meru: Family suffers chain of ‘misfortune’ while transporting dead kin

A funeral procession in Igembe, Meru county, had an eventful journey transporting the remains of their dead to its final resting place.

A chain of vehicles procured to transport the remains of their dead kin broke down repeatedly, under unclear circumstances.

According to witnesses, the funeral procession left the Meru Level 5 hospital mortuary early on Wednesday – only for the main vehicle carrying the body to break down.

The body was subsequently moved to a second vehicle – but which also broke down, halfway to the burial site.

“The second vehicle kept breaking on its own, almost after every few minutes, and this shocked us,” said a relative who was in the procession.

Reports indicate that the burial had been slated for Wednesday – but the short journey ended up dragging until 7pm.

A fourth vehicle, a 14-seater Nissan, picked to complete the rest of the journey was reportedly also involved in an accident, crashing the casket on the hard tarmac.

A video seen by Wananchi Reporting shows gloved-up family members collecting the remains of their dead kin, and moving it into a different coffin.

The accident happened at the Muuruta area, just between Kwa Amos and Kabaune area, along Meru-Maua road.

Pictures seen by Wananchi Reporting also show the coffin broken into pieces, and empty. No one else was reportedly injured in the accident.

The incident left the funeral procession and members of the public in shock – with many coining stories in an attempt to try attach meaning to the seemingly strange phenomenon.

Senior Chief Mathew Aburuki confirmed the incident.

“The members of the family held discussions with the traffic police who were manning the road, and were advised to take the body to nearby mortuary at St John Mission hospital morgue as they sorted their issues as a family,” said Aburuki.

The body was, however, later picked up by the brother of the deceased in his private car, and taken home for burial. This time the journey was smooth, ending a day full of drama.