NAIROBI, Kenya- The husband of late KCB executive Rosemary Chemutai Kimwatu has withdrawn his legal battle over her burial, abandoning a bid to have her remains exhumed and instead seeking permission to visit her gravesite.
Kevin Migwe Kimwatu, through his lawyer Ramadhan Abubakar, told the court on Monday that he would no longer pursue the case challenging the circumstances surrounding his wife’s burial or seek contempt proceedings against those involved.
The decision brings to an end a bitter legal dispute that erupted days after Chemutai’s death and culminated in her burial at her parents’ home in Chepseon, Kipkelion, Kericho County, on Friday night.
Kimwatu had initially moved to court after accusing his late wife’s family and her former employer, KCB Bank Kenya, of excluding him from funeral arrangements.
He wanted to be involved in decisions concerning the burial and had sought to have Chemutai buried at their ancestral home in Matasia, Ngong, Kajiado County.
The dispute intensified after KCB wrote to Lee Funeral Home on August 25, identifying Chemutai’s sister Judy Koech-Oyamo and her son Charles Migwe Kimwatu as the people recorded in the bank’s employment records as her next of kin and authorising them to liaise with the funeral home over her release and burial arrangements.
Kimwatu subsequently obtained interim orders from the Milimani Commercial Magistrate’s Court on August 28 restraining the respondents from removing Chemutai’s remains from Lee Funeral Home or proceeding with her burial without his involvement and consent.
Despite the order, Chemutai was buried at her parents’ home in Chepseon on Friday night.
The family proceeded with the burial after the court order had been issued, with the family saying it had not been served with the orders before the interment.
On Monday, however, Kimwatu opted to end the legal battle.
His lawyer told the court that his client had decided to “leave to God whatever happened on the night of his wife’s burial” and would not pursue the exhumation of her remains.
Instead, Kimwatu is seeking an opportunity to visit his wife’s gravesite on a day that will be convenient for her family.
Abubakar described the dispute as a painful situation for all sides and said withdrawing the case was intended to open the way for reconciliation.
“We hope that the bonds that tied them together for over 20 years will be mended,” the lawyer told the court.
Chemutai’s biological sister, represented by lawyer Danstan Omari, told the court she had not been served with the court papers or orders issued in the matter, saying she had been occupied with preparations for her sister’s burial.
Lee Funeral Home told the court it had been served with the orders and sought 14 days to file its response.
Lawyers representing Chemutai’s parents, Felix Kiton and Phillip Langat, said they had no objection to the withdrawal.
Kiton further told the court that the family had never prevented Kimwatu from accessing his wife’s gravesite and had always regarded him as their son-in-law.
The court subsequently allowed the withdrawal of the suit with no orders as to costs, effectively ending Kimwatu’s bid for exhumation and contempt proceedings.
The parties will now seek to resolve their differences outside the courtroom, with access to Chemutai’s gravesite emerging as the immediate issue.
Chemutai, who was 40, worked at KCB as Head of Data Protection within the Risk Division before her death on August 21, 2026.
She and Kimwatu had four children.
