Nairobi City County has annonced its intentions to dispose 193 unclaimed bodies currently lying at both the City Mortuary and Mama Lucy Hospital.
A public notice released on Sunday revealed the distribution of these unclaimed bodies, with 169 being housed at the City Morgue and an additional 24 at Mama Lucy Hospital.
“Pursuant to Public Health Act Cap 242, [Subsidiary; Public Health (PUBLIC MORTUARIES) rules,1991] (2). Interested members of the public are asked to identify and collect the below-names bodies within 7 days,” the notice read.
City Hall has stated that if the relatives of the deceased individuals do not come forward to claim the bodies within a week, it will initiate the process of obtaining authorization for their disposal.
The causes of death listed in the notice encompass a wide range, including suicide, electrocution, drowning, shooting, murder, natural causes, and “sudden” deaths.
The counties of origin for most of these bodies are marked as unknown.
Should the petition for disposal be approved, the number of bodies disposed of in 2023 will surpass 500.
On February 10, the county successfully disposed of 250 bodies after securing a court order. These unclaimed bodies had been stored at City Mortuary, Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital Mortuary, and Mbagathi Hospital Mortuary.
The court had granted health sector directions/orders for the disposal of these unclaimed bodies, in compliance with the Public Health Act, on February 9.
In August, Kenyatta National Hospital also issued a similar notice, revealing that they had 233 unclaimed bodies in their possession. They provided a seven-day window for the relatives of the deceased individuals to come forward, identify, and collect them.
