Residents of Kongelai in Kapenguria, West Pokot county, Kenya were left shocked after a local they thought was dead resurfaced in his own funeral.

According to locals who spoke to k24 Digital, they say they were notified of a strong odour from the nearby bushes by a group of women who sold vegetables nearby.

Upon checking, they found a decomposing body resembling that of Muriumeler.

“We smelt a strong odour which kept on increasing each passing day and informed other residents and upon investigations, we found a decomposing body resembling Muriumeler,” they said.

They then informed the family who immediately commenced funeral plans and even set burial dates for their ‘kin’.

The man thought to be dead said he was on his daily hustle when people from his village informed him that his family was mourning his death.

Muriumeler then gathered courage and called his brother who worked nearby and he confirmed his fears.

“I  was going about my business in Chepareria market when I noticed all the people I met from my village kept on telling me ‘pole’ and revealed that people were mourning me in my village,” he said .He later decided to return to his home village in Kongelai and true to his brother’s words, he found people mourning him.

“I had a hard time proving to them that I was alive as they kept telling me that I had died and it was my spirit that had visited them,” he noted.

The police, however, deterred the family from burying the man and took off with the body which had been anticipated to be that of Muriumeler.

The body has since been preserved at Kapenguria morgue and is still yet to be identified.