A planned funeral for two deceased brothers at Komo village in Thika, Kiambu County, was postponed after the family discovered that one of the bodies had been mutilated.

The bodies of Stephen Njoroge, 52 and his younger brother Francis Karanja Kanyari, 42, were set for burial at their remote village on Saturday, December 17, after a week-long mourning.

The two are reported to have succumbed to Cholera after they reportedly ate a fish from the contaminated River Komo, a stream that has lately been turned into a raw-sewage dumping site by exhauster operators who contravene waste disposal guidelines.

Drama ensued when family members went to pick up their bodies at General Kago mortuary, where they have been preserved and when they discovered that a postmortem had been conducted on Njoroge’s body without their consent.

John Njoroge, a son of the deceased, told journalists that he woke up very early to prepare the body of his father for burial, only for him to find out that parts of his father’s body had been seriously injured.

He explained that efforts to seek the postmortem results of the father from the morgue proved futile, but he later realized that one of his aunties went behind their back to pursue the exercise.

He lamented that the auntie ordered the autopsy exercise without their know-how and with an ill motive of transferring Njoroge’s land documents into hers.

It is believed the auntie has been embroiled in a longstanding land tussle with Njoroge and has, on many occasions, attempted to grab it.

“One of my aunties went behind our back to conduct a postmortem exercise to grab our father’s land. She has denied us the results of the examination. It is also possible that she could have collaborated with unknown persons to hide the fact that our father died of Cholera,” said the distraught son.

Hysterical Gladys Wangui, the wife to the deceased, said they reported the matter to the police, who told them to agree on the way forward but advised them to seek to know the cause of Njoroge’s death.

“Police were kind enough to tell us to agree on the way forward but insisted that we get to know the results of the strangely conducted postmortem,” stated Wangui.

Nelius Njeri, the wife to Karanja on her part, said doctors had told them the two brothers died of Cholera and wondered why their sister-in-law sought to go for another inquest.

“It is still mysterious why she went on to conduct another autopsy without informing us despite doctors have told us that the two brothers died of Cholera. What she is hiding from us is a wait-and-see story,” cited Njeri.

Francis Karanja, another family member, revealed that they were willing to wait for up to two more weeks to conduct the burial when the infamous sister told them autopsy results would be out.

Following the increasing Cholera cases in Kiambu County, residents have been calling upon governor Kimani Wamatangi to intervene and ensure clean, safe water for all residents.

A month ago, Wamatangi banned food hawking from trying and controlling the Cholera situation in the county.