Horror as ‘dead’ man walks home

The sad news hit the family like a thunderbolt. Their son, George Namwetako, was no more. They thought of the many things they wanted to tell him — if only they had a second chance.They went ahead and prepared for his funeral. They wailed and fellow Sirisia villagers in their Bungoma County came to assist in preparing for the send off. As they went ahead with the ceremony in May last year, some of them wished that the deceased could walk home alive.In what was supposed to be his first anniversary, this dream pleasantly came true as Namwetako, 36, walked home.At first, everyone who saw him took cover, for the last person they know to have resurrected was Jesus Christ.His mother, Judith Nanjala, says: “We wanted to run away because we thought it was a ghost.”Wrong body But a closer look and his voice revealed that, for sure, that was their son. Then, whom did the family burry? “That is when we realised we had buried a wrong body,” said a shocked mother.Last year, the family was informed that their son had died and was in Vihiga District Hospital mortuary.They confirmed the name of the deceased was similar to their kin’s but it was not easy to identify the badly decomposed body, which had been in the morgue for ten months.To get the body from the mortuary, some 70km away, the family had to raise money to offset a Sh105,000 bill.They held several funds drives and even sold a piece of land and cow to meet the cost.They were finally ready and headed to the mortuary in a convoy of vehicles.“It was an emotional journey. Namwetako’s friends scrambled for space in the few vehicles to join the family for the procession to the mortuary,”Laid to rest. Nanjala says they did all that was required as per the community’s traditions and they laid him to rest in an emotional ceremony in the homestead.Last Friday, the family was faced with another crisis; how to welcome a ‘dead’ man home. The family turned to elders for advice. “In such odd situations some rituals must be done to cleanse him because he is a bad omen,” says Nanjala. Elders say, a black sheep has to be slaughtered for his cleansing.When villagers came to terms with Namwetako’s unexpected return, they shouted and danced with joy.His grandmother Redempta Barasa joined them in welcoming him back into their midst. But this upset his father who, apart from refusing to grant the media an interview, vowed never to allow the ‘dead man’ back into his home.No handshake However, his father said he would only allow Namwetako back into the family after he is cleansed and refunds the money for the mortuary fee and burial expenses.

“I can’t even shake his hand since he is the one who caused all the poverty you are seeing in this homestead. Let him first repay the debt, then we will see!” yelled the old man as he melted into a banana plantation.

But elders intervened and convinced him to allow Namwetako to undergo the cleansing ceremony and sort out the money issues later.

“I am shocked that my father doesn’t want to set his eyes on me yet my mother has welcomed me with open arms,” said Namwetako as he fought back tears.

He said he is happy that he was back home and the pain the family was going through over him was now over.

Namwetako explained that he had left home in 2008 to look for a job and was employed as a farmhand in Bondo where he had been staying all the while.As they ponder over the latest happenings in their lives, the family is waiting for police to come and exhume the wrong body.