A woman claiming to be the wife of the late Kakamega County Chief of Staff, Robert Sumbi camped at the Kakamega funeral Parlour, on Saturday, November 7, to halt the burial proceedings of her husband.
Sussy Nandama Sumbi claimed that, her co-wife, Yvonne Tanui had hatched a scheme to secretly bury her husband. She revealed that unknown people had been seen at the funeral parlour with an attempt to carry on with the burial plans.
She deemed the action as illegal as she had in possession, a court order which barred the burial proceedings from being carried out.
The widow affirms that she was forced to stake her claim upon discovering that she and her three children were left out of the committee organising Sumbi's sendoff.
She also claimed that Yvonne had pitted Sumbi's family against her in order to omit her from the property share. The widow claimed that her 20-year marriage with Sumbi was officially recognised by law.
“I understand there is a plot by Yvonne, my late husband’s family and the County Government of Kakamega senior officials to block me from inheriting my spouse’s property.
“I do not recognise Yvonne as my co-wife,” she told K24.
The aggrieved party claimed that her husband's official documents went missing mysteriously since he succumbed to Covid-19.
She demanded Yvonne to restore the documents, failure to which legal action would be taken.
"His Identification Cards, Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards, logbook, title deeds and his car all went missing. That's why today I have camped here at the funeral parlour to ensure that justice is done, "she said.
A statement from Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya, on Thursday, October 29, said Sumbi died while undergoing treatment.
“It is with deep sorrow that I announce the death of my Chief of Staff Robert Sumbi which occurred today, (Thursday, October 29) at 5am,” the statement reads.
Oparanya praised Sumbi as a dedicated, diligent, humble and valuable officer who served in his office as a County Executive Committee Member (CECM) and later Chief of Staff.
He noted that his death was a big loss to the County Government as they had lost a focused staff member whose contribution and sheer efforts would be utterly missed.
“I have lost a close friend and ally whose advice and support has helped me in making key decisions in my political career and the management of county affairs, " Oparanya stated.
