An Embu man’s funeral preparations after his father announced he had died at the hospital were stopped in the last minute after being found alive.

Preparations for Stephen Kivuti’s funeral whose father had said he had been told he had died and taken to the morgue after being admitted at the Embu Level Five Teaching and Referral Hospital on January 1, 2020.

Kivuti was admitted to the hospital after being referred from another hospital after drinking himself to unconsciousness.

Kivuti’s parents James Nyaga and Faith Nyaga in conjunction with residents at Mbita Location in Mbeere South Sub-county had been meeting for almost a week as they mourned his alleged death and raised money and finalized funeral for his body which was to be done on Wednesday (January 8) after printing the eulogy, and were just to buy a coffin.

The family which had believed it was had lost their son and the residents had even set aside a spot where the grave was to be dug after organizing with the area's Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK) clergy to conduct the funeral which had been fixed for Thursday.

However, the funeral was not to be after the parents, other family members and burial preparation committee went to the hospital on Wednesday to finalize mortuary fees payment.

That is when they found the man whom they were preparing to bury in his initial bed receiving treatment, to which he was responding very well.

His father said Kivuti went on a drinking spree to celebrate the new year his siblings found him unconscious in his bed.

The father said the son was rushed to Kiritiri Level Four hospital where doctors declared they could not resuscitate him as his condition was too serious and thus referred him to the referral hospital where he was admitted for advanced treatment.

He said they left him in ward no 2 in one of the beds and went back home and that the following day he went to check on him and was shocked to find he was not in the bed and on enquiring from the neighboring patient he was told he had died and his body taken to the mortuary.

The father said he collapsed, on regaining consciousness he headed back home and informed the family and residents about the so called sad news.

From then on burial predations were being made and scores of residents were gathering there daily to mourn with the family until on Wednesday when the turn of events unfolded.

The area chief Josphat Nyaga, chairman of the burial committee Njoroge Kimani confirmed the bizarre event noting that apart from the eulogy which had been paid for they were to buy the coffin yesterday (Thursday) the grave was also to be dug yesterday and thus they decided all the other money that had been raised for the funeral should be left to the family to take care of the patient and other needs.

When the press arrived at the home they found shocked residents still there and a pile of plastic chairs and a tent which were being used by mourners still there.

The Star/ Reuben Githinji