The family of the late Dan Ayoo Obura, a General Service Unit (GSU) police officer, has been granted the green light to exhume his remains from the compound of the controversial St. Joseph Mission of Messiah in Africa in Rongo Sub-County.
In a ruling delivered by Rongo Principal Magistrate Chrisphine Orwo, the court directed that the officer’s body be reburied at his ancestral home in Kochieng Village, Nyando Sub-County, Kisumu County.
Magistrate Orwo further ordered that the deceased’s widow, Lilian Atieno, work with public health officers to identify the exact burial site within the church grounds to prevent random digging. The exhumation will be carried out by a public health officer, with security provided by the Officer Commanding Kamagambo Police Station.
The court also ruled that the widow must be involved in the burial rites at the Nyando ancestral home. In his judgment, Magistrate Orwo cited the role of customary law, stating that it takes precedence in such matters provided it does not conflict with justice.
The respondents had argued that the officer was buried at the church because he had sold his only piece of land, but the court dismissed the claim as “illogical.”
Obura was buried in March 2025 at the church compound, which has since been shut down by the government following multiple allegations against it. The premises had earlier been declared a crime scene by Rongo Sub-County security officials.
Despite the court’s ruling, the officer’s widow has indicated her intention to appeal the decision.
