KNH to dispose unclaimed bodies of 217 babies, 16 adults

Some 233 unclaimed bodies which have been lying at the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) mortuary in Nairobi for four months are about to be disposed of in a mass burial.

The hospital says the bodies have not been claimed and comprise 217 children as well as 16 adults.

According to the CEO of the largest referral hospital in East and Central Africa, Evanson Kamuri, the facility is seeking to create more space at its crowded morgue.

Dr Kamuri has already released a list of the bodies’ names, urging the families to collect them within three weeks ahead of the mass burial.

He said a list of the names is available at the KNH Farewell Home and can also be accessed through the institution’s website.

KNH’s announcement comes just over a month after the Nairobi County Government disposed of 236 unclaimed dead bodies lying in morgues within the city. 

In a September notice, the county said 218 unclaimed bodies were at the Nairobi City Mortuary and 18 others at the Mama Lucy Hospital Mortuary.

The causes of death ranged from road accidents, murder, drowning, shooting, natural death, sudden death, mob injustice among others. 

The bodies were received in the morgues in the period between March 2021 and March 2022, having been registered in various police stations. 

 According to the Public Health Act, an unclaimed body is removed from a mortuary within two weeks. 

Contrary to that, it should be buried in a mass grave after public officers obtain permission from a court.