Kenyan family in dilemma as their son dies of Covid 19 in the US

News & Politics
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Terribly sad.

Sharing “” dilemma over son killed by Covid-19 in US

International flights banned; state has ordered bodies disposed within 24 hours

In Summary

• Peter Juma, a Kenyan from Mombasa, succumbed to the virus on Saturday night.
• He was working as a bus driver in New York and had lived in the United States for about four years.

by MAUREEN MUDIChief Correspondent- Coast Region

Coast

Peter Juma, a Kenyan who succumbed to coronavirus on March 28.

COURTESY

A Mombasa family is in agony over their son who died in the United States after being infected by coronavirus at work.
The family of Bishop Elisha Juma and Reverend Mary Juma of Kenya Assemblies of God, Tudor, is trying all they can to ensure the remains of their son Peter Juma, 35, are brought into the country.

With the outbreak of coronavirus, there are no flights in or out of the country; strained communication with authorities due to time difference and distress in trying to follow up on the body.

If all fails, the family may be forced to bury the body in the foreign land, with no or very few relatives to witness his sendoff.
Juma succumbed to the virus on Saturday night. He was working as a bus driver for a company at an airport in New York and had lived in the United States for about four years.
“He was with us since December 25 and returned to the States mid-January. We had no idea that was the last time we would see our son alive,” Mary said.
Bishop Elisha was admitted at a Mombasa hospital a few days ago after he heard that his son had been hospitalized with the Covid-19.
With the current directive in most counties that bodies are to be disposed within the shortest time possible, the restriction is another dilemma for the family.
They are not sure whether they will be able to transport their son’s remains as cargo and even if they do - hailing from Nyanza - the rigorous processes involved in final sendoff, may also pose another challenge.
“What we are sure of, is that we cannot travel due to the ban on international flights. We are trying to exhaust all options to see what will work. We are reaching out to the embassy to see the options they will provide,” the mother said.

Peter had fallen ill within a week and was admitted, but the few relatives with him in the States could not be allowed to visit him due to the distancing directive to prevent the spread of the virus.
The nearest relative, his sister, was also many kilometres away.
Edited by R.Wamochie

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Naweni mikono jamani

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There are no flights so wanataka tufanye aje? The sista should organise a funeral there…sure the state will help.

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Luos culture demands the body otherwise they will bury a banana tree.

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Haiyaaaa…they will have to cope with the current times, he has gone already. If no flights out so what? don’t know about the morgue arrangements in the US but kama ni huku, it is a lot of money even under v normal circumstances. Most airlines are not flying out.

Maybe they should accept cremation?

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Did you see how that cremation of former Kibra MP brought drama and it was in his will? Theyll have to do some rituals to appease I don’t know who.

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I saw that one and was vvv sad about it. But in the world we are living in saa hii…they have to accept the new circumstances no ifs no buts. Which airline will take his body on? this thing is for all of us.

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we are at war. this are desperate times.

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Luos ancestors don’t know that. They will reign terror. Those guys fear ancestors sana.

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Now those saying blacks are immune better take notes

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then, let the ancestors come and handle the situation.

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He will be cremated abroad but his family must do some rituals to avoid the wrath of the ancestors. It’s their culture and they believe in it. No matter how senseless it sounds to others.

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TZ has a death and several kids infected

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well, they will do what is necessary.

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What justifies mandatory cremation? The figure you should be giving us is on how many people, over and above those who usually die on a given day, are dying from coronavirus. Otherwise if you just give us ‘coronavirus death’ figures without perspective, you mislead us. it could be that we are attributing the ‘normal’ deaths to coronavirus. Like for perspective’s sake , you should know that on a normal year [without coronavirus] an average of 2.31 million people die in the USA, given a population of 330 million and a crude death rate of 7 per 1,000 per year – https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/sp.dyn.cdrt.in – which translates into an average of 6,328 per day. So how many people, above the 6,328 normal average per day are dying in the USA – so that we can attribute the extra deaths to coronavirus. Otherwise it could be a scenario where coronavirus has become a new final stage of death…

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Eeeeer don’t get you. Pls lipa one airline to fly his body home. As his family wishes. Okiiii?

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One reason why we are voting against their leader with our fingers and toes.

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Thought that myth was busted about a month ago?

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Here they are, he’s very young and looks very healthy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unNXv3Y3MsY

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No, it depends on whether he was born here or there. If he was born and raised in the US (and didn’t get things like the mandatory BCG vaccine that is given here), then he is as good as a white american.