By Ivan Zhakata
The family of Michelle “Moana” Amuli will have to wait a little longer to know how and when the socialite will be buried after the High Court reserved judgment in an application by her mother Ms Yolanda Kuvaoga to cancel the burial order issued to her estranged husband Mr Ishmael Amuli.
Moana died in the accident that claimed the lives of Genius “Ginimbi” Kadungure, Limumba Karim from Malawi and Alichia Adams from Mozambique more than two weeks ago.
Kadungure has since been buried while the remains of the other two have been repatriated to their home countries.
Ever since the crash, Moana’s mother Ms Kuvaoga and Mr Amuli have been haggling over how to bury her, with the mother favouring a Christian burial while the father wants to bury his daughter with Islamic rites. The different types of funeral would take place at different cemeteries.
Yesterday, High Court Judge Justice Pisirai Kwenda heard oral evidence from the estranged couple over the burial dispute and reserved judgment to tomorrow, saying he wanted time to make an informed decision on the matter.
Giving oral evidence before the court Kuvaoga said they had initially agreed to bury Moana the Christian way, but the father suddenly changed his mind after he got the burial order.
“My plea is that let us do what we have agreed on the first time. Initially, we had agreed that the deceased will be taken to Doves, spend the night there and will be taken to my house for about two to three hours, then proceed to Zororo Cemetery for burial,” she said.
Mr Amuli told the court that they were not objecting to what Kuvaoga wanted, but they were following the Islamic culture. “We are not objecting to what she wants but according to our culture a deceased person does not sleep in the house,” he said.
“We agreed that the body will be taken to Doves then to her place before burial. According to our culture we do not bury the deceased in a coffin, we bury them the Islamic way. In all those processes the applicant (Kuvaoga) is allowed to be present.
Kuvaoga, represented by her lawyer Mr Jerome Madondo, last week approached the High Court on an urgent basis seeking an interim interdict to stop the burial until the finalisation of the matter, but Amuli’s lawyer Arshiel Mugiya dismissed the application arguing that the court cannot nullify a burial order that was lawfully obtained. The Herald
