Kenyan govt funds Pastor and son’s funeral, graves

The Government of Kenya will purchase a piece of land for the burial of the late Pastor Sakaraia Mataka, 55, and his son 15-year-old Paula Tekei Mataka. This was confirmed to the Fiji Sun by Warrant Officer Class 2 (WO2) Isaia Vosadrave during the Fiji UN 40th Anniversary Celebrations service at Centenary Church, Suva yesterday.

WO2 Vosadrave said he received a call from Mrs Sakaraia Mataka that the Ministry of Finance from Kenya had visited her just to relay the message that they would fund her husband and son’s funeral

“The wife said they were the only two foreigners on the plane and all the rest were Kenyans,” he said.

From the information he gathered from Mrs Mataka, the Pastor and his son were on their way from Kitale to the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, before heading to Fiji when the plane crashed.

He said his sister Unaisi Snow and uncle Pastor Tomasi Tekoca would be flying to Kenya this Friday for the funeral.

“All expenses are paid by the Government of Kenya,” he said.

The late Pastor’s elder brother WO2 Isaia Mataka, who went to six peacekeeping tours of duty, said he really missed Pastor Mataka and 15-year-old Tekei.

He said the family was supposed to return to Fiji in December after their 10 years of service in Kenya.

The late Pastor Mataka, he said, was involved in the construction of schools in Kenya.