By A Correspondent| There was pandemonium last Saturday in God Miaha village when a man believed to be dead appeared at his own funeral.

Mourners and residents who had gathered to bid their loved one farewell took to their heels when Kennedy Ogweno appeared for the burial ceremony at Ramba location in Rachuonyo East, Kenya.

Ogweno, 38, had not visited home for the last 20 years and on the few occasions he got in touch with his family, he told them he worked as a fisherman along the beaches of Lake Victoria.

A month ago, Ogweno’s relatives got information that he had died in Mbita town after falling sick.

The family was also told that his body was taken to Homa Bay County Referral Hospital mortuary.

Family members then went to the mortuary, identified the said body and registered their details as next of kin.

The kinsmen returned home and scheduled his burial for Saturday. On Friday, they went to the mortuary, got the body and took it home.

But with less than an hour before the body could be interred the next day, Ogweno appeared and started greeting the mourners.

There was confusion. Residents ran away from the homestead after mistaking Ogweno for a ghost. His efforts to convince the mourners that he was still alive fell on deaf ears.

Chief Joseph Ndege said Ogweno’s appearance deterred people from eating the food the family had prepared for mourners.

“A lot of food had been cooked for mourners but many people did not eat upon Ogweno’s appearance. Even those who had begun eating had to stop and run away from the home,” Mr Ndege said.

Judith Atieno, Ogweno’s sister-in-law, said it was only by coincidence that she met him on a beach in Rachuonyo as they were making funeral arrangements.

“I had gone to Alum beach and I found him. I told family members in Ramba on phone not to bury the body before they could confirm whether the man I had met was Ogweno,” Atieno said.

The body that the family was preparing to bury was taken back to the mortuary.-StandardMedia