A lady purporting to be Kelvin Kiptum’s girlfriend and child’s mother applied to the High Court, but the court rejected the request to issue orders stopping the burial.
In her Eldoret court appeal, Edna Awuor Otieno, 22, claims that the late Kiptum was the biological father of her one-year-and-a-half-month-old daughter.
She hoped to have the burial postponed until the outcome of the lawsuit, in which she and her unborn child are claiming beneficiaries of the marathoner’s estate.
The funeral for the late Kiptum will take place on Friday, February 23, at his recently built home in Naiberi.
In order to prevent Kiptum’s corpse from being collected from Eldoret Hospital Mortuary and interred at his Naiberi residence before an interparty hearing, Ms. Otieno had petitioned the court using a certificate of urgency.
The mother-of-one had also requested, via her attorney, Joseph Ayaro, a warrant authorising the collection of bodily samples from Kiptum in order to establish his paternity for the youngster.
She informed the court that the deceased’s relatives had failed to acknowledge her and had also omitted to include the minor’s name in the eulogy.
Ms. Otieno said that she and her baby were entirely excluded from the athlete’s funeral by Kiptum’s family.
The accuser said that before Kiptum tragically passed away in a car accident, he was taking care of the youngster.
“Until his passing two weeks ago, the deceased was acquainted with me and the minor, and he had been caring for us as his own family,” the plaintiff said.
According to her, on that tragic day, Kiptum sent her a message asking how the kid was doing and offering to send money for necessities like food and clothing.
Justice Wananda noted that the public had an interest in the burial of the late Kiptum while rejecting the application.
“The burial preparations for the deceased are well underway, so it would be inconvenient to interrupt them now, given the resources that have been invested,” he ruled.
Regarding the youngster, the court said that the petitioner has additional options to establish paternity via the legal system.
Since this is an order, the minor’s interest will not be reduced. The court said that the minor’s mother is free to pursue any alternative legal options to protect her child’s rights.
The applicant’s attorney raised an objection to the matter’s mere mention, signalling his intention to pursue other legal remedies.