This is not the first time the man has faked the death of his son, he did the same, five months ago.
Anthony Werimo of Matungu Constituency (Mumias), Namutenda Village who is also a tout at Ekero shopping centre in the outskirts of a once busy Mumias town sent hundreds of messages to friends and family members seeking ”aid to facilitate a dignified sent off for his son who had died unexpectedly.”
“Hi Mhesh, I have lost my son and will be burying on Friday. Kindly assist me with some money to facilitate the funeral arrangements,” Mr Werimo’s message to Mumias East MP Benjamin Washiali, read.
Mr Washiali would later sent Mr Werimo a whooping Sh10,000, but suffered a shock when he sent representatives to be part of the disaster that had befallen his former bouncer.
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“The MP sent me Sh10,000 via M-Pesa and asked me and two other officials from his office to stand in for him at the funeral,” said Mr Kamau Murunga, an aide to the lawmaker.
The message was in addition to hundreds of other friends who were in Kisumu, Nairobi and Kakamega towns and so could not easily avail themselves for the burial ceremony, “which will be on Friday”, he had indicated. He luckily nabbed a relative in Nairobi, identified as Godfrey Lutomia, who had to gracefully part with Sh3,000, thanks to MPESA.
Following the unusual silence, as would be case of wailings in Luhya land’s normal funeral environment, yet there were people trooping his home, among them fellow touts, many had to keep peeping to know what was happening in his homestead.
“Normally, in Luhya land, where there is a funeral, friends and relatives gather even after the burial to condole the bereaved family. But in this case, we didn’t find anybody in the home of Mr Werimo nor footprints to indicate there was a group of people mourning,” Mr Murunga explained.
He added: “The vegetables surrounding the grave had not been tampered with and there was no remnant soil around the grave to indicate it was dug and refilled during the burial.”
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Villagers however quipped that it was not the first time for Mr Werimo to do such a shameful thing. He had done a similar game five months ago, in which he minted nearly Sh50,000.
“This is the second case of mystery involving Mr Werimo. In June this year, he sent messages to our relatives that I was seriously sick in hospital and he needed Sh50,000 to clear my hospital bill,” said Mr Watako.
Mr Werimo’s sister-in-law Mildred Nabwire said he had brought shame to the family.
“We know him as a hardworking man. But faking the death of his child is abnormal and shocking,” said Ms Nabwire.
May the son live long to help the father mint more from Matungu residents.
