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The family of a Kenyan man who died under mysterious circumstances in the United States is seeking the government's help to investigate his death.
50-year-old Moses Maima allegedly committed suicide in Chicago but was quickly cremated by his wife without the family's knowledge.
The family says it had planned to airlift his remains to Kenya for burial. Maima’s younger brother Phillip Miyare says the family is still devastated.
Speaking to the Sunday Standard, Miyare says the family wants an independent investigation launched to establish the circumstances leading to his brother's death.
“The explanation on how he died is suspicious. We need to know what happened,” says Phillip.
Miyare divulges that Maima wished to be cremated upon his death but the family is questioning why his spouse did it without their knowledge.
“What is worrying is the speed in which he was cremated after his death in the alleged suicide,” notes Phillip.
“The family wanted the body to be brought and buried in Kenya. This was the wish of our father. We requested to be involved in the burial arrangements but this was never done,” he adds.
Miyare claims that Maima’s wife went ahead to cremate him despite initially agreeing to do burial arrangements together.
"We had agreed to consult one another but last week but were shocked to learn the body had been cremated," he says.
Maima moved to the US in the 1990s and leaves behind three children.
The family will hold a requiem mass on April 13th without his body.
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This is a Man who had been Used and Dumped; and then Cremated (to cover up). Shame on Kenyans / or whoever in the US.
Suggest you share your evidence with investigators in Chicago.
Men and women if the ring/band, mine is a word if advise. In these days and times we are living, husband and wife sleep with one eye open...especially those with MORE THAN ONE FAMILY. Watch out what you sign off to your current spouse.
Am told this guy had made his money, he travelled and lived like most of us would dream. He had plans for a future with great prospects....WHY WOULD HE KILL HIMSELF??? Did he only belong to ONLY ONE INDIVIDUAL? Which Kenyan buries someone WITHOUT involving Living PARENTS of good standing?
People get killed all the time over insurance money. In fact, that is first thing to look if the death looks suspicious. The second thing to look at is the spouse's love life. One spouse having a secret love relationship is a cause of partner's elimination. If this Kenyan man died under a mysterious circumstance then the answer is right under their noise. The fact that he was cremated secretly without the man's Kenyan family consent is itself a red flag. Kenyans are strong and don't easily commit suicides, unless hali ya makaratashi imefika end and the thought of going back home to face Maisha there looks scaring
@Dr. Koni Hanene, Insurance watachimba yote before they give the wife a dime. Remember Insurance are looking for any reason not to compensate people.
Insurance never pays for suicide.
If it's truly Suicide, then it needs to be Investigated as to What led him to commit Suicide. Women in the US can "Drop a Man to a Stick"; they can rush you to the Grave faster than you think.
If his wife was Akata, or from NYERI: so sad.
The wife followed what her husband had said. She has the right to cremate the body.
But did she involve his children from the first marriage?
I suspected there was marriage 1 & 2. drama
Quite a sad and unfortunate situation. I however think that the family should honor the deceased wishes to be creamated if it was in writing. We need to move away from a burial culture to creamation. What is the point of having a plot of land dedicated to a person who wouldn't care one way or the other?
Yes! If it was in WRITING; In WRITING by the Late himself.
The deceased wished to be cremated and his next of kin fulfilled this wish. Ati the speed was suspect? What was she supposed to wait for? The good man was dead and every extra day in the morgue is a lot of money. I've never understood hii mambo ya kuweka maiti wiki mbili ama tatu. Truly respect our Muslim brothers who bury the kin same day they die. Why waste so much money to store and transport a corpse while Kenyans are dying of hunger?
Waiting for Evidence (after all what Led to him Committing Suicide anyway?). Anything suicidal is Suspect.
A breath of fresh air. I wish more Kenyans were more progressive like Mumbi. Wasted money aside, please understand the wife as the next of kin has the say, 100%, regarding the affairs of her husband. This includes financial, burial, children if any etc.
Relatives coming out of the wood works may have ulterior motives. You relinquish all claims to your SON once he gets married. Pole sana.
This would have been easy to accept and respect if the circumstances surrounding his death were clear. No one is giving a clear account on how he died. And it's easy to say this when it's not your kin that's dead in a foreign country and you don't get closure upon his demise!
The late had loving family members back in Kenya who would have genuinely wanted to be part of his final farewell in whatever way, cremation or otherwise. He had a mom, a dad, a sister, a brother, a friend etc. There’s a very good reason we collectively do final rights on a person. Who knows, maybe one or two or a few of these would have traveled to the US for the cremation. Some people invite trouble to themselves unnecessarily.....you ain’t gona do this to my brother or son and expect to go scotfree. And I don’t have to use the law to get at you
Someone needs to tell this family the wife has a 100% right over husbands body. The customs where widows are ran over, silenced, property grabbed, inherited or chased out of homes does not apply. The husband said "cremate" and the wife cremated. Its called respecting someones wishes.
I concur that the wife is the next of kin and has the legal right to carry his wishes. Unfortunately the family in Kenya is under the mercy of different laws and customs. It is a loosing battle for the family back in Kenya unless they can demonstrate that a crime was committed.
I think we have taken the Western culture to another level. Whilst I agree the deceased wishes should be honoured, I equally think we need to consider the feelings of our relatives by involving them in the process. Before he was your husband, he was someone's son, brother and cousin. Having said that, we haven't heard her side of story.
Well said Sukari"Before he was your husband, he was someone's son, brother and cousin. Having said that, we haven't heard her side of story"
If the wife is african,and Kenyan in particular, I would find it had for her not to even notify the deceased's family on the final action.But I can see it happening the way it did if the wife is from a western world.
Hard to tell how much cost factored in,with the scanty information given here.For example,did he prefer cremation because it was cheaper,or because of his beliefs,or both...
Moses was my classmate back in Starehe Boys' Centre. It was shocking to hear of his passing. May his soul RIP. I don't have any details of the cause of his death. He had been visiting Kenya regularly and keeping in close contact with the SBC Alumni.
He may have become an American but I dont think he stopped being an African. I also don't believe he would have wished to be cremated without the presence or participation his father, family and friends.
I sympathise with his family back home and wish them well as they seek answers and closure.
You nailed it.👍
So he commits suicide after telling his folks he's coming to kenya!? (I know this because he told me he was coming to kenya in a weeks time). I wish i could divulge more information (sensitive) concerning this case but I assure you, this man did not commit suicide!
Cremation or burial, how do you deny the father a chance to get closure by atleast allowing him to see the body? If i was the murderer I would do that as a way of covering up, trajectory of the bullet would tell a lot, just saying.
You're talking like you know what killed him tell us.
@sukari@Doctor samson u have spoken like 10 maumau fighters.Yes the wife had 100% right to do what the husband wished n if the cash was the problem atleast u can stretch yourself for 1wk to let the family come over to oversee the cremation juu you have kids for the guy n the kids still belong to the guy family n u will have to answer to yr kids when they grow up juu they will find out why u neva inlvoved their extended family??Hapa ndio unanjuanga kama uko na akili timamu zenye zinafanya kazi??So this wife failed on that!!!Secondly it's good to know who really yr wife or husband is kama yeye nikashetani in yr marriage don't hide anything!dont let yr wife know uko na life insurance especially if u know she can b a bitch juu sinjaskia wanaume wakiua mabibi zao it's often women do it.So we don't really know what this two couples was going thru.All i can say is miciii ni migambo(marriages have lots of hidden issues)
@kenya, your statement should have stopped with this. Unlike Kenya, the medical examiner has to release the body only after an investigation. This is a breakdown of communication, people DO choose cremation, maybe he just never communicated that to family members back home. Spouse should have done that tooo and involve them, maybe they just chose to not do that because of the relationship with deceased person family. Who knows, but within their rights.
There is always two side of the story. I hope his wife will give her side of the story to clear the air.
Ok people. Lets google and solve this case. From google, I gather the wife was a Dr. Ada Adhiambo Kagumba - Quincy Medical group, whose parents are a Jaluo and a German. Parents retired somewhere in Chemelil or Kisumu County. They have a small child. I stand to be corrected. They lived in Quincy, IL. How did he commit suicide in Chicago, which is in Cook County, while his home and the missus are in Adams County? Both Moses and Ada have/had property in bot their name in Quincy. Now totally being biased; this Ada is AmeriLuo. Ok, she was born in Ohio and went to JHU for medical education (JHU alumnae tuko)....thats Johns Hopkins. Her parents likely advised her to cremate the negro knowing how Luo terro buru can be hell.
This great guy personally told my mum that he wanted to be crameted when he dies. This was his wish. Any claims beyond that is lies. Rest In Peace buddy!
No one is disputing his cremation wish. What is suspicious are the circumstances surrounding his death! Did your mom tell you that too? And what was so difficult in allowing his father to view his body before cremation? What was being hidden?
if i'm getting this straight, whether it was the deceased wish to be cremated or not the way he died is very suspect. I do not dispute the cremation, if it was his wish then it was definitely honored. you see when you loose a loved one a postmortem is done, the family gets the report that so and so died and its because of A,B,C. Gives you closure doesn't it? now in this case, the man allegedly kills himself and from what i hear, the investigations were done hurriedly and in a very sketchy manner since the wife is well connected to the police department from her yrs as a doctor.
I ask you this... does the family accept that their son is gone and that his time had come or do they pursue a lead they believe will reveal foul play since the information they have been provided with is suspect?
Do you guys see the scenario that in the case he didn't actually kill himself that he actually was murdered and made to look like a suicide and that hurriedly going for cremation(it being the deceased wish) would be the perfect cover up? do you guys actually see that? because i see that possibility all too well given that the man was wealthy.
forget whether he was cremated or not, was this man murdered or did he really commit suicide that should be the question and not the back and forth story of oh the family wanted the body but the deceased mentioned cremation as how he wanted to finish his journey.
I stand to be corrected, thought i'd raise a different perspective to all this
Well put. The circumstances surrounding his death are suspect. His wish to be cremated is not in question here.
..... so how many of you would be willing to pay for the expense of keeping the body in mortuary while you wait for famo to travel to come see the body? How many of you would be lining up to change for the famo to buy tickets to travel here? how many of you would be lining up kwa gofundme to collect funds to ship of the body home?..talk is cheap, keyboard warriors....
Those of you asking how he could kill himself after telling you he was coming to kenya or how he could kill himself in a different county...I can empathize with your pain if you knew him, however there is no manual for suicide. There is no playbook that says "kill yourself in your county close to your house".
People have killed themselves after telling their kids and spouse " I will be right back". There is no manual to follow.
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Instead of this endless talk of this and that should have been done, how about you focus your conversation and energy of discussing what drives people to take ones own life and how you as a fellow Kenyan(-american) can support people in distress so they don't look at that as an option?
"......how about you focus your conversation and energy of discussing...."
@Mkenya1, referring you your point.... "so how many of you would be willing to pay for the expense of keeping the body in mortuary while you wait for famo to travel to come see the body? How many of you would be lining up to change for the famo to buy tickets to travel here? how many of you would be lining up kwa gofundme to collect funds to ship of the body home?"... Mzee Jomo Kenyatta said Harambee!. Harambee has been Kenyans motto since independence. It has been done thousands and thousands of times and Kenyans do not get tired of it. He would not the first one or the last one Kuchangiwa.
Totally speculating here: The man was not your average American Butt Cleaning (ABC) immigrant. He was relatively successful, and was hitched to (per google) an Ameri-Luo who must know a thing or two about an African spirit. Cremation is grand, but closure is important. Would she want her father to die in Bar Ding and be cremated without her having an opportunity to mourn him, because he wanted cremation? Tuache ujinga waKenya. If she finds our ancestors traditions so bothersome, then please drop the African names you carry so proudly....they mean something! Take on Tyrone, Tyrese, Shakwonda...so you can crenate yourself in 2 hours. Why carry a very Luo name like Jaber Adhiambo if you intend to insult things that Luo respect? He was a son, an uncle, a brother...long before he became your husband. A community, to inlcude SBC that now him to be selfless raised him. Eeee....unapologeticallly African.
I pray that they will find help.
There is nothing to see here. When you marry/get married, you accept what befalls you. Whether it is how you raise your kids, what culture to adopt, life/death decisions,administration of your will and testament, or whatever befalls you if you don't have a will. We have to accept these things and we have to realize that it is going to become more common as the world becomes smaller and smaller. This guy was clearly married to someone whom (if we assume did not kill him), was uninterested in allowing the man's family proper closure. I can't tell you how manny times I see people worked up over inheritance court battles among 3 wives and their children after a billionaire dies. It would actually surprise me if there was no battle at all, meaning the billionaire was extremely organized and planned for the inevitable, or at least married and raised very sensible family!
Additionally, we have to realize that people are changing their ways of thinking even though we remain African on the outside. I have said it again and again that if I were living abroad with my family and that is where home is primarily, I would vehemently oppose for $20,000 to be raised to just put me in a hole in Kenya and then condemn that piece of soil for 1000 yrs. Then again, I am the kind of person who would rather use 1million to pay for goods for our first home together than spend it in a wedding ceremony and then struggle for yrs. My message to each their own, which means that you have to choose people who will advance your agenda when you no longer can't and that you should make it clearly known to those that care about you (si wale wanatokea for the first time when news reach them lakini hamjaongea in 5yrs hata kama ni immediate relatives) about these serious topics. I know us Africans don't like to talk about them lakini I predict we will see more and more of this. In fact, I see it all the time when people from two very different tribes marry. It's is not just foreigners.
On another note, I would like to know more about the cause of death but I will support someones point that a decent coroner would be very very unlikely to sign off on an evenly slightly suspicious death. On the other hand, an insurance company will even deny a legitimate case if you are not careful; at least they will frustrate you.
It is easier to say accept and move on if the situation is seen at the yonder. This gentleman has his dad alive, has his brothers 3 of them alive and have multiple relatives who would have loved to see his body sent off in a more dignified way whether cremation or otherwise. We don’t disputes the rights to the will signed by the deceased but involving relatives is of great paramount for posterity. I think in this case there more than what meets the eye, and time will tell
What happened? Was he depressed? was he a loner?
The family only needs to contact Chicago the medical examiner's office in Chicago. Cremation is only done after he ascertain that the office has all the evidence. Not sure Kenyan can do anything on a cremation that happened in another country, especially with good technology.