TAITA TAVETA, KENYA — The grave was still fresh when Duncan Wangama returned to it this time carrying a smaller coffin.
Three days after burying his wife, Stella, the Wusi-Kishamba Ward MCA stood over a second open grave. This one belonged to their newborn daughter, Judy Wanjugha Wangama.
What began as a moment of joy the birth of a child quickly turned into a double tragedy that has shaken the Taita Taveta community to its core.
Stella Wangama died on 8 July, barely a day after delivering her baby through caesarean section. Family members said she had shown signs of improvement before her condition suddenly worsened. She passed away at a local hospital, where she had been recovering.
Her funeral was held on 17 July, drawing crowds of mourners, local leaders, and fellow content creators, many of whom described her as a loving wife and pillar in the community.
But just as the family began to grieve one loss, another struck.
Baby Judy, only a few days old, died on 20 July. She had reportedly been in delicate health since birth. She was buried the next day, right next to her mother, in the family’s home in Kitalenyi, Ngerenyi Village.
As mourners gathered for the second time in a week, the pain in Wangama’s voice was raw.
“Ooh my God, why all this? My daughter Judy, mbona?” he wrote in a post on Facebook, using the Kiswahili word for “why.”
Photographs from the burial showed a visibly broken father, placing a bouquet of white and purple flowers atop the tiny coffin, surrounded by mourners in stunned silence.
Local leaders have rallied around him. Bura MCA Anthony Mng’ambwa was among those who offered condolences and called on the community to keep the grieving father in their prayers.
“We stand with our colleague during this unimaginable time,” Mng’ambwa said. “No words can ease this pain.”
The double loss has also sparked broader conversation on the state of maternal and neonatal care in public hospitals, particularly in rural counties like Taita Taveta. While no official report has linked medical negligence to the deaths, residents are questioning whether more could have been done to save both mother and child.
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