The Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) this week informed the public that it intends to dispose of 541 bodies if they are not identified and claimed by next week Tuesday, April 9.
Among these are over 475 babies and 66 adults; KNH stated that out of the 66 adult bodies, seven are female, while the remaining 59 are male.
In a public notice published in this week’s MyGov, the hospital stated that it is acting in compliance with the Public Health Act Cap 242 Subsidiary legislation Public Health Public Mortuaries rules of 1991.
“Kenyatta National Hospital is in possession of a number of unclaimed bodies at its farewell home.
“Pursuant to Public Health Act Cap 242, interested members of the public are therefore requested to identify and collect the bodies within seven days, failure to which the hospital will seek authority from the courts to dispose of them,” KNH said.
The Public Health Act mandates the removal of an unclaimed body from a mortuary within two weeks. Failure to do so necessitates burial in a mass grave after obtaining court permission through public officers.
The hospital announced that a list of the names of the unclaimed bodies is accessible at the KNH Farewell Home and can also be found on the institution’s website.
Nairobi County Bodies
Elsewhere, the Nairobi County Government notified city residents last week that they had seven days to identify the bodies of their loved ones lying at the City Mortuary, Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital, and Mbagathi Hospital mortuaries.
Failure to do so within this timeframe will result in the county government disposing of all the 185 unclaimed bodies.
City Mortuary holds 130 unclaimed bodies, Mbagathi Hospital Mortuary has 38, and Mama Lucy Hospital Mortuary has 17.
The unclaimed bodies have accumulated in the mortuaries between September 2021 and December 2023, with registrations originating from various police stations.
