Police officers were on Saturday, July 18 deployed to Ohangla musician Maureen Achieng's home at Kopanga village ahead of her burial.
In a video seen by Kenyans.co.ke, the armed officers were spotted at Maureen's homestead where hundreds of villagers had already gathered to pay their last respect, oblivious of the guidelines set by government to combat the spread of COVID-19.
Some of the villagers could be heard wailing from a distance.
The body of the deceased was to be transferred from Ojele Memorial Hospital mortuary to Kopanga village for an overnight vigil on Friday. However, that did not happen.
Large crowds had already started forming outside the mortuary on Friday which raised concerns over the security and health of those who would be attending the burial.
"The plan was to take the body home on Friday but we made abrupt changes because we noted that it would pose a health risk to mourners who had already crowded the place," Lady Maureen's brother Charles Ochieng stated.
Migori municipal board chairman Joseph Nyambiri on Friday assured that the burial would have enough security.
"Security has been deployed to help control mourners who are still arriving in droves,” he stated.
Lady Maureen died on the morning of Saturday, July 11, after a long illness at Uriri in Migori County.
She was known for her prowess in ohangla music, some of her songs being County Waneno and Gor Kogalo.
Her demise came on the backdrop of luo musician Bernard Onyango Obonyo, popularly known as Abenny Jachiga, who succumbed after a short illness on June 11.
Abbeny's burial was chaotic after mourners invaded the decaesed's homestead, took his casket from the grave and took his body around the village for viewing.
Police officers had to bury him at 2:30 am at night to avoid commotion.
