The body of the late Paul Kipchabas who was buried outside a classroom in Koroto Day Primary School, Baringo North, was on Thursday exhumed.
Under tight security, it took public health officers three hours to exhume the body, following a Kabarnet Court ruling on Wednesday.
Kabarnet Resident Magistrate Vienna Amboko had ruled that Kipchabas’ grave in the school compound was not only a nuisance but also a disturbance to students peace of mind.
A contingent of armed Rapid Deployment Unit and Kenya Police officers were prepared in case of any eventuality. The family had vowed not to allow the body of their loved one to be exhumed.
Baringo North Public Health Officer Evans Cherogony says the body will be taken to Baringo County Referral Hospital mortuary.
Cherogony says the body will be preserved temporarily before being interred in a public cemetery since the family has refused to allocate an alternative land for burial.
Kipchabas was buried in the school and his grave cemented in the dead of night. According to the Kalenjin culture, it is taboo to exhume a body once buried. Residents kept off the scene and no family members were present during the exhumation.
The family is embroiled in a land dispute with the management of the school. The late Kipchabus died on March 23 and was buried at night three days later.