The family of a 28-year-old Kenyan who died while working in Dubai is demanding the exhumation and repatriation of his remains after learning that he was buried without their knowledge or consent.

Nearly two months after losing contact with Peter Nyaanga Omambia, his relatives in Ngonyek, Trans Nzoia County, say they are still searching for answers over the circumstances surrounding his death and why he was buried before the family was informed.

When Daily Nation visited the family on Sunday, grief and uncertainty hung over the homestead as relatives and neighbours gathered to discuss how to bring his body back to Kenya for burial.

Omambia left Kenya in October last year after securing a two-year contract as a motorcycle rider in Dubai through a local foreign labour recruitment agency. According to his family, he had hoped the job would improve the family's living conditions.

Lost contact

They say they remained in regular contact with him until May this year, when communication abruptly stopped.

"We had been talking to our son regularly since he travelled to Dubai, but in May we lost contact with him. That is when we knew something was wrong," said his father, Mr Joel Omambia.

The family says it asked relatives living in Dubai to look for him, but they were unable to trace him.

"We later received information that he had died in hospital in Dubai," his father said.

Joel Omambia, father of Peter Omaambia, 28, who died in Dubai in May during an interview with the Nation at his home in Ngonyek area in Trans Nzoia on July 26, 2026.

Photo credit: Evans Jaola| Nation Media Group

Documents seen by Daily Nation show correspondence from the State Department for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, referenced KCD/CONS/4VOL XIII (66) and dated June 21, 2026, confirming that Omambia died in Dubai on June 1, 2026. However, the correspondence does not state the cause of death.

Omambia's father said he later received a telephone call on July 8 from Esther Mwaniki, an official from the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, informing him that his son had died at NMC Jebel Ali Hospital.

He said the family was informed of the death but was not told the cause of death or how the remains would be returned to Kenya.

"We were only told that our son had died and had been buried in Dubai without our knowledge or consent. We are shocked that we still do not know what happened to him," he said.

He added that he later contacted Principal Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Dr Abraham Sing'oei, but did not reach him. According to the family, they later received documents, including a death certificate and information indicating that Omambia had already been buried.

The family says it remains distressed by the circumstances surrounding the burial.

"Our son followed the right procedures to travel and work abroad, and the government knew he was there. We do not understand why he was buried thousands of kilometres away from home without involving his family," his father said.

His mother, Mrs Hellen Chepkorir Omambia, recalled accompanying her son when he left Kenya last year in search of employment.

"We had been preparing to receive his body and even sent people to Nairobi, only to be told later that he had already been buried without our knowledge," she said.

Hellen Chepkorir Omaambia, mother of Peter Omaambia, 28, who died in Dubai in May during an interview with the Nation at his home in Ngonyek area in Trans Nzoia on July 26, 2026.

Photo credit: Evans Jaola| Nation Media Group

Through tears, she questioned why the family has not received a full explanation of how her son died.

"We want to know what happened to him. Was he sick? If so, why were we never told? Even if he died, why were we not informed before he was buried? We want to bring him home," she said.

According to the family, they were later informed that Mr Omambia had been buried after his body was reportedly treated as unclaimed following its transfer by Dubai's Department of Health to the police.

"The letter we received on July 21 left us in great pain. How could our son be buried without our consent? We are demanding answers," his mother said.

Family appeal

The family is now appealing to the Kenyan government to facilitate the exhumation and repatriation of Mr Omambia's remains so he can be buried at home.

Joel Omambia, father of Peter Omaambia, 28(inset), who died in Dubai in May during an interview with the Nation at his home in Ngonyek area in Trans Nzoia on July 26, 2026.

Photo credit: Evans Jaola| Nation Media Group

"We want to know the truth. We want our son's body brought back home so that we can give him a dignified burial. That is our minimum," said a family member.

However, documents seen by the Nation indicate that the Kenyan government has begun efforts to facilitate the repatriation of the deceased's remains.

In a letter dated July 10, 2026, Principal Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Dr Sing'oei requested Kenya's mission in Dubai to liaise with the deceased's employer to establish the events leading to his death, obtain the post-mortem report and official cause of death, and facilitate the exhumation and repatriation of the remains.

"The family wishes to have the remains interred in Kenya, and the employer is willing to cater for the repatriation cost. Through the department, the family respectfully requests the mission to liaise with the employer to obtain further information, including the timeline of events before his demise, share the post-mortem (autopsy) findings and the official cause of death with the family once the reports are available," reads part of the letter signed by Ms Esther Mwaniki on behalf of the Principal Secretary.

The correspondence further directs the mission to facilitate the exhumation and repatriation of Mr Omambia's remains through Eldoret International Airport.

Even so, the family says it remains frustrated by what it considers delays in the process and insists it will not find closure until it knows how Mr Omambia died and his body is returned to Kenya.

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