The body of the late pop-gospel artist, Kefee (Irikefe Don-Momoh, nee Obareki) was given a queen’s burial on Friday July 11 in her hometown, Okpara Inland, Ethiope-East LGA, Sapele, Delta.
The whole town came to a standstill as the body of their departed daughter arrived Akpevwoghene Educational Centre, Okpara Inland, around noon in a white SUV with ‘Omega 1’ as the plate number.
She was also in a white casket and was laid in state in the middle of the school’s football field while friends and family paid their last respects.
The casket was not immediately opened to the public but a funeral service was held in her honor while Sammie Okposo, his band and other gospel artists took turns on the stage set up at the venue.
The husband, Teddy, clad in white had arrived earlier and received the body along with members of Kefee’s family. They first took her into one of the classrooms and said some prayers before taking the body to the centre of the field.
The parents, out of custom, were forbidden to either witness the funeral service or see the dead body of their child.
Afterwards, in the evening, everyone regathered in Sapele for a celebratory event where gospel artistes and a number of local upcoming artists performed till late into the night.
Kefee was a well-liked Pop-Gospel artist who had been active in the Nigerian entertainment industry for ten years. She was born on February 5, 1980 in Sapele, Delta State and was known as the Branama Queen, in reference to her debut hit track and album, ‘Branama’.
She also scored a hit with the track, ‘Kokoroko’, featuring Timaya and had albums like ‘Branama’ (2003), ‘Branama 2’ (2005) to her credit.
Kefee passed away on June 13, 2014, in the United States of America. She is survived by her husband, parents (both living), friends and well-wishers.
