Family: Why we buried Rosemary Koech at night

The controversy surrounding the death and burial of Rosemary Chemutai Koech, a senior manager at KCB, intensified when her parents conducted the burial at night on Friday. This occurred hours after a court had intervened and ordered Lee Funeral Home not to release the body. Rosemary, who had worked as the head of data protection in KCB’s risk division, had passed away by suicide on August 21 at the age of 40.

She had lived in Ngong, Kajiado County, with her children following a strained relationship with her husband, Kevin Migwe Kimwatu. A Nairobi court had earlier temporarily halted the burial, prohibiting Lee Funeral Home from releasing the body until a case filed by Kevin was heard and determined. However, the burial took place anyway, reportedly due to cultural traditions and the need to avoid leaving a suicide victim unburied for more than a few days.

Clan chairman Samwel Keter, a relative, explained that in Kalenjin culture, bodies are typically buried at night, and within two days after a post-mortem, to prevent further tragedies. Police investigations and postmortems had complicated the traditional funeral process, but Keter emphasized that holding a service after the burial was still within the mourning window for the immediate family.