‎ ‎The family feud over the burial of the late James Mburu Kinani, father to Kiambu Deputy Governor Rosemary Njeri Kirika, has reignited after his children from the first marriage vowed to move to court seeking exhumation orders. ‎ ‎Mburu, who died in November 2024 at the age of 92, was buried on the night of September 17, 2025, in a ceremony his stepchildren conducted after collecting his body from Kijabe Mission Hospital. The first wife’s family has condemned the night burial as “secretive and unjust.” ‎ ‎Earlier, Magistrate Gerhard Gitonga had ruled that Mburu be buried at his ancestral home in Gatanga, Murang’a County, beside his first wife. However, that ruling was overturned by the High Court after an appeal by Deputy Governor Njeri and her siblings, who argued the magistrate erred in law.

‎ ‎Lawyers Danstan Omari and Stanley Kinyanjui, representing Mburu’s first wife’s children, claimed new documents were irregularly introduced during the appeal. They further accused the court of denying them the chance to appeal before the burial was carried out.

‎ ‎“This was a selective application of justice. A 92-year-old patriarch, father to a deputy governor, cannot be buried like a dog. It is repugnant to morality and justice,” said Omari, insisting they will seek court orders for exhumation.

‎ ‎The lawyers also plan to petition Chief Justice Martha Koome to issue guidelines requiring automatic stay orders in burial disputes, arguing that without such measures, contested burials force families into the painful process of seeking exhumation. ‎