Sh670,000 Bill Prevents Kenyan Singer Ruth Matete from Burying Her Nigerian Husband

Kenyan gospel singer Ruth Matete is unable to bury her Nigerian husband Pastor John Apewajoye, who died three months ago.

This comes after the Nigerian High Commission to Kenya last week granted consent for the release of the deceased’s body to Matete for burial. 

The mission had ordered the body be held until the ongoing probe into Apewajoye’s death is concluded.

But Matete’s lawyer Robert Odanga told Daily Nation that the family is unable to bury the deceased due to an outstanding medical bill amounting to over Sh600,000. He said the bill, which includes body storage fees, had accumulated to Sh677,000 as of Friday last week.

Last month, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) requested Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) to waiver the body storage fees citing an ongoing probe but the facility declined, saying it would not contravene policy on waivers of that particular amount.

Matete, who is pregnant with Apewajoye’s child, was questioned by homicide detectives in relation to his death.
 
“At the moment everything is at a standstill, she cannot launch her album, teach at her music school or preach at her church with the dark cloud hanging over her name. The public perception is stacked against her,” lawyer Odanga told Daily Nation.

Apewajoye, 42, died on April 11th at KNH, where he was receiving medication for burns he suffered while allegedly trying to fix a gas cylinder at their home in Great Wall estate in Athi River on March 30th.

An autopsy showed Apewajoye succumbed to multiple organ failure occasioned by the burn injuries he sustained in the fire incident. Chief Government Pathologist Dr. Johansen Oduor said the deceased suffered 60 percent burns.