Mercilyn Moraa, a widow from Nyansanda village in Nyamira township, was allegedly driven from her marital home on the day of her husband’s burial, with the family locking the house and telling her she was no longer welcome.
Her husband, Ezekiel Maasi Mosomi, had been ill since December 22, 2025.
Mercilyn says she stood by him throughout, accompanying him to hospital and financing his care until her savings ran dry and she had to take out a loan to keep up with treatment costs.
Why Mercilyn Left Home for a Week
Unable to repay the loan, she faced repeated visits from debt collectors at the family home. She says Ezekiel himself urged her to leave temporarily so the collectors would find only a sick man in the house and would not cause a scene.
“My husband advised me to leave so that they could not find me when they came,” she said. “He told me if they found him alone in the house, they could not make noise now that he was sick.”
She was away for one week. During that time, his condition deteriorated rapidly, and his siblings took him to hospital, where he died. Mercilyn returned as soon as she heard the news.
“I came back to our house immediately I received the news of his demise,” she said. “I didn’t sleep outside. I have been around the whole time the family is arranging for his burial, nobody has involved me in anything, they’ve not been speaking to me.”
Nyamira woman chased away in the rain on burial day
The family’s hostility reached its most painful point during the burial itself. Mercilyn says she was not called to the graveside. As it began to rain, she made her way back to the house, only to find it secured with three padlocks.
Her brother-in-law, George Mosomi, told her directly that she had to go, reportedly saying he had found a new wife for his late brother.
The burial itself raised eyebrows among those present. A neighbour noted that the men carried Ezekiel’s body to the grave while the pastor was still preaching, an unusual move that unsettled many in attendance.
“The body was carried and put in the grave when the pastor was still preaching. This unusual move surprised everyone,” the neighbour said, adding that villagers were audibly angered when word spread that Mercilyn had been expelled.
Her brother Wilfred, who had come to bury his brother-in-law, confirmed that the family ultimately packed Mercilyn’s belongings into a sack and he left with her.
“My sister has been married here for two years. She has five children,” he said.
Mercilyn, for her part, was resolute in defending her conduct during her husband’s illness. “Sikumtoroka,” she said, meaning she had not run away from him.
