THERE was chaos in Busia ( Uganda) on Sunday when mourners abandoned a burial to watch the World Cup football match between Ghana and Serbia.

The incident happened in Mugungu ‘B’ village in Busia town during the burial of Moses Wafula, a casual labourer, who died of kidney cancer on Saturday.

Mourners, including the dead man’s brother, Bwire Ojusi, blamed Pastor Moses Barasa of the Calvary Church for prolonging the sermon yet the match was about to kick off.

Frustrated, Ojusi organised his friends, who stealthily carried the body from the make-shift shelter, where it had been placed during prayers, to the grave, before the end of the prayers.

On realising that the body was missing, the Pastor rushed to the grave to stop the burial. The mourners almost pounced on Barasa, accusing him of making them miss the match.

“If we cannot bury now, we are leaving you with the body. We have to go and support Ghana,” said Ojusi.

However, Barasa stood his grounds and ordered that the body be returned to the shelter so that he could complete his sermon. The mourners abandoned the burial.

Only the father of the late, Wilson Ojusi and a handful of Barasa’s church members remained behind to carry out the burial.

The World Cup fever swept across the nation on Friday when the tournament kicked off in South Africa.

In Munyonyo, International Criminal Court delegates abandoned the meeting to watch the host country take on Mexico, which match ended 1:1.