It is an abomination for lawyer Bob Kasango's widow, Nice Bitarabeho Kasango to even contemplate having her husband buried at her home in Fort Portal, officials of Tooro kingdom have said.
"It is unheard of!" a flabbergasted Peter Sunday Rusoke, the Tooro kingdom cultural minister said moments after Kasango and Bitarabeho's families battled for his body at All Saints Cathedral in Kampala today.
"It is culturally wrong for a person to be buried at the in-laws' home," Rusoke said.
Despite Kasango's family that hails from Tororo in eastern Uganda snatching and taking off with the body, burial preparations were still underway on Tuesday at the home of late Dr Mark Wabunoha in Mugasani Cell, Gweri Ward in North Division in Fort Portal.
Kasango's wife is a descendant of the prominent Dr Wabunoha, whose family recently celebrated their centenary since their 'founding'. The homestead is now headed by Kasango's mother-in-law.
Family members at the Wabunoha homestead have declined to comment about the matter, saying it is still controversial. At All Saints Cathedral, it was announced that Kasango would be buried on Thursday in Fort Portal. However, his Tororo family protested, saying they cannot accept to lose their dignity and allow their son to be buried at his in-laws' home. They snatched the body and took off with it as the dumbstruck A-Plus Funeral Services pallbearers and mourners looked on.
In Mugasani, a few people were found cleaning around the home, and some tents had already been erected and chairs put in place for the anticipated mourners. Some people showed our reporter the place that has been cleared as the burial site, saying they are waiting for A-Plus Funeral Services to dig the grave. The site is the graveyard where Dr Wabunoha, the founding patriarch was buried.
Adolf Gafabusa, an elder found at Wabunoha's home explains that he has known the late Kasango for a long time, adding that he had businesses in Fort Portal and Kasese district. Kasango's blood relatives hold the same view as the cultural leaders of Tooro that burying someone at the in-laws' graveyard is an abomination.
Kasango's family insists that he has to buried at his ancestral home in Wikusi village, West Budama constituency, Tororo district. Kasango died in Luzira Prison last Saturday, according to widow Bitarabeho after battling heart complications. He was serving a 16-year jail term handed to him in 2018 after he was found guilty of theft of Shs 15.4 billion intended to clear more than 6,000 pensioners.
He is survived by three children; Samara Paul Kasango Junior who is their firstborn, Stefanie Gracia Karungi Kasango and last born Ivana Zeta Murungi Kasango.
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