Man Forced to Spend Night With Deceased Wife by Cops Awarded Nearly $15K

A man who alleged that police officers forced him to spend the night in their precinct sleeping next to his deceased wife in her casket has been awarded a cash compensation for the ordeal.

According to a report from the BBC, Charles Mwenda, who filed a lawsuit against the Meru administration in Kenya after he claimed to have been harassed by police while he attempted to bury his late wife Faith, was awarded 1.5 million Kenyan shillings, or about $13,900 USD.

Judge Edward Muriithi of the Meru High Court said police had violated Mwenda's rights and treated him inhumanely as he grieved his family's tragic loss, the outlet reported.

African outlet The Star originally reported that on May 27, 2020, Mwenda and his family went to bury his late wife, who had passed away after a battle with abdominal cancer. Mwenda and his lawyer Vivian Wambulwa claimed he and his grieving entourage has tested negative for COVID-19 and were granted appropriate paperwork that allowed them to travel.

However, Mwenda and Wambulwa claimed that despite this, police dismissed the party of 31 and threatened them with a forced quarantine. They also allegedly brought Mwenda and his wife's casket to the Kianjai Police Precinct to spend the night.

"Despite having health certificates clearing me and other family members including my two kids of the novel coronavirus, police and county government officials ordered them back to Malindi leaving me alone with a casket. I pulled the casket all alone and sheltered it under the lorry that was parked near Kianjai police post," Mwenda said in an affidavit obtained by The Star.

The BBC also reported that, despite his pleas to take his wife's remains for a burial in Meru about 3 miles away, they refused. During the night, heavy rainwater also allegedly flooded the coffin holding Mwenda's wife.

"What I saw there was so inhuman, upon a lengthy discussion all my family and friends were forced to return back to Malindi and I was left alone with the [casket] which was offloaded from the bus and put in a police car," Mwenda told the Mombasa County Government Watch Facebook page at the time.

"I was threatened that I would be taken to a 14-day quarantine after the burial. I had to travel alone after even my mother and kids were denied to accompany me...I was forced to spend the night with the [casket]."

The Star reported Mwenda then filed a lawsuit in which he alleged the police had violated his rights to grieve, calling it "the darkest day of my life" on Facebook.

A Facebook account under Mwenda's name posted thanks yesterday to the court and his lawyer "for their effort and making sure I have been served justice for the inhuman treatment I was given by the county government of Meru." Newsweek was not able to independently verify that account and account holder.

Newsweek also reached out to Inspector General of Police Hillary Mutyambai for comment on the matter, but he did not immediately respond in time for publication.