A High Court in Eldoret has refused to issue an order stopping the burial of international marathon runner Kelvin Kiptum after a 22-year-old woman claimed to have fathered a baby girl aged one year and seven months.
In her application before Magistrate Robert Wananda, Edna Awuor Otieno, 22, wanted the court to stop the burial until she and her baby were recognised as beneficiaries of the deceased’s estate.
Through a certificate of urgency, Edna had approached the court to stop the body from being removed from the Eldoret Hospital mortuary for burial at his home in Naiberi, pending an inter-party application to stop the burial.
In her application through lawyer Joseph Ayaro, she also asked the court to issue an order for DNA samples to be taken from the body to be sent to the Kenya Medical Research Institute or any other public institution to establish the paternity of the minor.
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The plaintiff told the court that the minor is the deceased’s biological daughter and therefore has a right to benefit from the multi-million shillings estate of the deceased athlete.
She told Justice Ananda that the deceased’s family had not only refused to recognise her as part of the family but had also failed to include the minor’s name in the eulogy and other funeral arrangements as expected.
The complainant argued that prior to Kiptum’s death in a road accident, the deceased had been caring for the minor and taking care of all the child’s needs.
“The deceased had recognised me along with the minor and he took good care of us as part of his family until his death two weeks ago,” the complainant said.
She further revealed that on the fateful day, Kiptum communicated with her to know how the child was doing and promised to send her some money for her upkeep and other basic needs.
In dismissing the application, magistrate Wananda noted that the burial of the late Kiptum was of public interest, hence he was inclined to grant the large orders sought by the applicant.
“The arrangements for the burial of the deceased are at an advanced stage and therefore stopping the burial may be disruptive considering the resources that have been put into preparing for the burial,” Justice Wananda ruled.
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On the issue of the minor, the judge said there were other legal avenues the applicant could pursue to establish the paternity of the minor.
“The interest of the minor is therefore not curtailed by this order, the mother of the minor is, therefore, free to pursue other legal avenues to ensure that the rights of the child are well looked after,” the judge said.
The lawyer representing the petitioner objected to the mention of the matter and indicated that he would seek other legal remedies in the matter.
