Finally after a long battle on who to bury the mum, the Oliech family have settle the feuds and are now ready to lay their mum to rest.
The burial ceremony of Mary Auma Oliech popularly known as Mama Oliech is now scheduled 11th of August, this is according to her eldest son Nickson Onywanda.
Speaking to one of the local dailies Nickson put to rest speculations surrounding his mother’s burial saying that the family had come to an affirmative decision on the matter.
Onywanda explained that the family had met with elders to settle the differences between two factions advocating for two different burial dates with one seeking to have her laid to rest on the 11th of August while the other on the 18th, one week later.
In his statement he added, “Yes it is true there were differences in burial dates, but it all comes to one thing that she is our mother. One group wanted one date for their own reasons the other date also for different reasons. There was no unanimous decision on when to lay to rest our mother.
He further added saying, “So, one group placed an advert on the paper and the other followed suit. I cannot stop anyone from doing it. I understand why there is confusion but we as the family sat down with the elders and iron out issues.They stated that decision will be ultimately made by the eldest son, which is me. I chose 11th where the majority had decided.”
According to the Daily Nation where the two opposing obituaries were placed, one of the adverts was sponsored by one of Mama Oliech’s five sons while the other by one of her daughters.
Mama Oliech’s body -which is at Umash Funeral Home – will now be taken to her rural home in Seme, Kisumu County on Thursday.
The matriarch of the Oliech family died on July 20 after a long battle with illness.
Mrs Oliech, was a widow by the time of her death, rose from poverty to establish a restaurant that in 2016 made headlines when Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, one of the 10 richest people globally, ate ugali and fish there during his visit to Kenya.
“I enjoyed ugali and a whole fried tilapia for the first time and I enjoyed them both,” posted Mr Zuckerberg on his Facebook page describing Mama Oliech Restaurant as a “local place everyone recommended”.
The tension in the Oliech family became apparent in October 2012 during the hearing of a family land dispute.
The case was about a piece of land in Dagoretti and it pitted Mrs Oliech against some of her children.
Though little ever came in the public domain about the life of Mama Oliech, video images of a court session in October 2012 gave a glimpse of the no-nonsense woman she was.