Bungoma: 99-year-old man buried in glass casket he designed himself

The burial of 99-year-old Mzee Daniel Mukwana Matakala Omukinyieu has sparked widespread online debate after he was laid to rest in a transparent metal-and-glass casket.

The family from Mfupi village in Tongaren Constituency, Bungoma County, fulfilled the patriarch’s final wish by burying him in the unusual see-through coffin, which quickly went viral on social media due to its striking design and unconventional appearance.

Before his death, Mzee Daniel had personally sketched the kind of casket he wanted for his final journey and contracted a local welder to fabricate the custom structure.

Speaking to TNX Africa, Hudson Mukwana, a son of the late patriarch, said his father had very specific instructions about how he wanted to be buried.

“My late dad had plans of the kind of casket he would wish to be laid in when he died. He came up with the design and informed his family to make him a metal and glass casket different from the obvious ones. Mzee had taste for whatever he wanted,” Hudson said.

According to the casket maker, Mzee Daniel also instructed that his grave be tiled because he did not want his body laid directly in the soil.

“Nilienda kwake akanieleza kwamba angependa sanduku lake liwe la chuma na vioo, akanieleza pia angependa kaburi lake liwekwe tiles mwili wake usilale kwa mchanga. Jeneza hilo nilitengeneza hapa nyumbani kwake kisha nikapeleka mortuary kupokea mwili wake,” the casket maker said.

The burial also brought renewed attention to some of the unique funeral traditions practised among sections of the Bukusu community in Bungoma and Trans Nzoia counties, where elaborate send-offs are often viewed as a sign of honour and status.

Photos of the unusual casket quickly spread online, attracting mixed reactions from social media users.

One Facebook user, Tyson Wakhanu, wrote, “Advantage ya kuishi to old age. You tell people what to do at your funeral and they gladly obey.”

Another user, Osinyo Matatizo, commented, “Nishaiona hii uko side ya Butere eeeh nikashtuka. Ata sikukaa kwa hiyo matanga, nilienda tu nyumbani.”

During the burial ceremony, the transparent casket was paraded around the village as mourners viewed the body for the last time before the final rites.

Hudson Mukwana also revealed that the late Mzee had four wives, although one died earlier, leaving behind three widows and 37 children.

“We are a big family in our home. Mzee had four wives, unfortunately one died. Three of them are left behind. I have 36 siblings,” he said.