Family Sues Ex-K24 Journalist, Seeks His Deportation From US

Nyakundi was accused of raising funds under the guise of funeral funds yet they were to sustain his stay in the American nation.

Family Sues Ex-K24 Journalist, Seeks His Deportation From US
An Image of Milton Nyakundi addressing the press on October 17, 2021 at Ngong Hills Hotel. /FACEBOOK.MILTON NYAKUNDI

The family of Yuniah Bochaberi Oseko who died in 2020, on Thursday, May 11 filed a lawsuit against former K24 journalist Milton Nyakundi.

Through law firm Mwae & Associates Advocates, the family in a letter to the United States (US) embassy in Kenya seen by Viral Tea is accusing Nyakundi of publishing misleading and malicious publications regarding the death of their kin on Facebook.

"One Milton Nyakundi Oriku is currently on a visit to the United States of America, Maryland State.

"On 10th May 2023, while within the jurisdiction of the United States of America, the said Milton Nyakundi Oriku made on Facebook false, misleading and malicious publications regarding the death of Yuniah Bochaberi Oseko," read the letter in part.

US Embassy in Kenya. /FILE

The family is demanding that the US embassy revokes the visa of Nyakundi and for him to be immediately deported back to the country to face impending civil proceedings against him.

Nyakundi was accused of raising funds under the guise of funeral funds yet they were to sustain his stay in the American nation.

"He is not related to the deceased. He has not been instructed by the family of the deceased to raise any funds for any funeral.

"Further, he has illegally started practising journalism in the USA. We, therefore, request that you investigate his social media conduct with a view to establishing his activities," added the letter.

Nyakundi in the post claimed that Mama Yuniah's burial plans had resumed, alleging that he confirmed that there was no recent court case.

He further claimed that the alleged land case which halted her final journey was an excuse for the family that did not want to be held to account owing to what he termed as their greed.

"But the extended family has now taken a decision which is firmly going to be upheld so that anybody now wanting to stop her burial will be known as one that is holding the mother’s body at ransom.

"Anyone with any questions feel free to ask I will respond as a member of the family because this is my auntie and we have now taken a decision against the nonsensical issues being raised because it is no longer funny to have our auntie not buried for all this time because of a non-existent matter being propagated by an individual whose evil intention has no basis," he wrote.

An article he published on Kurunzi News, in which he is the managing editor, had reported that one of Bochaberi's sons had moved to the High Court seeking to stop the burial over a dispute about the parcel of land on which she would be interred.

It added that the deceased could not be buried earlier despite the court giving an order for her interment in April 2021 because one of the sons failed to cater for the funeral expenses.

"The court had directed that Joseph Ngala Oseko, who had been the custodian of monies collected from wishers, offset the burial expenses from the money he had received from friends. However, the banker has never paid the bills due to the funeral home and to Equator Meridian Hospital where the deceased had been admitted before her death.

"The hospital is claiming Ksh619,057.29 for the time she was admitted at the Intensive Care Unit, while the morgue fees to date stand at Ksh1,592,000," the article titled Yuniah Oseko: Burial finally set despite ‘sons land row’ read in part.

Nyakundi on Wednesday, September 7, 2022, had filed a petition at the High Court seeking former Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Chairperson Wafula Chebukati to be declared unfit to hold office, two days after the Supreme Court of Kenya validated the election of William Ruto as Kenya's fifth president following the hotly-contested 2022 general elections.

He also asked the court to blacklist IEBC Chief Executive Officer Hussein Marjan, and former Commissioners Abdi Guliye and Boya Molu for their alleged gross misconduct in the general election. Additionally, he relied on several affidavits filed by the dissenting four commissioners led by the commission's former Vice-Chairperson Juliana Cherera.

On October 17, 2021, Nyakundi was attacked by goons while giving a press conference in a hotel along Ngong Road in Nairobi, on the country’s state of football, in particular, his address on the management of the Football Kenya Federation (FKF).

IEBC chairperson Wafula Chebukati speaking during the launch of the Post Election Evaluation Report on January 16, 2023. /TWITTER.IEBC