The Court of Appeal has issued orders stopping the burial of a 100-year-old man pending the determination of an appeal next month.

Silas Kamuta Igweta who died in February this year is yet to be buried because of a pending tussle between his two wives Grace Rigiri and Sarah Kathambi on where to bury their late husband.

He was to be buried on the 22nd of this month. 

The court while issuing the orders said that it would deliver its ruling on July 26, 2024.

The two families are fighting on where to bury the old man with each party claiming rights.

In the matter, a magistrate court had ordered the deceased be buried at the second family home saying that he had close familial bonds with the second family as opposed to the first family which he had allegedly abandoned over 40 years ago.

However, the first family was not happy with the decision and moved to the high court where they won and the earlier orders were overturned.

This led to the court of appeal taking up the case where the second family says that the court erred in its decision arguing that the high court ignored their evidence that they were at a loss for they are the ones who lived with the deceased and paid for his hospital bills without the help of the first family.

"By granting the stay this court will not only be enforcing the constitutional rights to access to justice but also will be giving hope to a family that is mourning the injustice they have suffered, " the first family noted.

The second family through lawyer Danstan Omari argue that the constitution does not specify where a polygamous man should be buried.