Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) has issued a 7-day notice regarding the collection of 541 unclaimed bodies currently held in its morgue.
The hospital intends to dispose of all unclaimed bodies from its morgue in one week’s time.
In a statement on Tuesday, April 2, the referral health facility called on Kenyans to go through the list of 541 named bodies at their morgue.
“The Kenyatta National Hospital is in possession of a number of unclaimed bodies at its Farewell home,” the hospital said.
The announcement came out with the hospital saying it is only acting in compliance with Public Health Act Cap 242 Subsidiary legislation on Public Health (Public Mortuaries rules, 1991 (2).
“Pursuant to the Act, interested members of the public are therefore requested to identify and collect the bodies within seven days,” the hospital declared.
KNH Uncollected Bodies
Among the 541 bodies currently held at the KNH mortuary, there are 66 adults, comprising seven females and 59 males. However, 20 of these adult bodies remain unidentified.
Additionally, the farewell disposal list at KNH has a total of 475 unclaimed bodies of children.
The list further includes three sets of twins and one set of quadruplets.
KNH said it will seek authority from the courts to dispose of bodies that will not be claimed in the one-week grace period given.
However, this is not the first time the hospital has moved to dispose of unclaimed bodies.
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In October 2023, the hospital issued a 14-day notice to the public to collect some 224 unclaimed bodies.
Hospitals nationwide continue to grapple with the storage of unclaimed bodies within their premises.
Many of these individuals are emergency cases brought in by Samaritans or victims of accidents, whose bodies are transported to morgues by responding law enforcement.
Increase of Unclaimed Bodies in Hospitals
On March 28, 2024, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital (JOOTRH) issued a notice regarding unclaimed bodies currently held in the hospital mortuary.
The notice pertained to all bodies that had been unclaimed in the JOOTRH mortuary for a period exceeding three months.
Additionally, on March 26, Patrick Analo, the Acting Nairobi County Secretary and Head of County Public Service Board, revealed that there were 185 bodies in morgues yet to be collected.
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According to Analo, City Mortuary holds 130 unclaimed bodies, while Mbagathi Hospital Funeral Home and Mama Lucy Kibaki Funeral Home each have 38 and 17 unclaimed bodies, respectively.
Analo explained that these unclaimed bodies have accumulated in the mortuaries between September 2021 and December 2023, with registrations originating from various police stations.
Similarly, on January 10, 2024, Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital (KUTRRH) issued a public plea for assistance in identifying an unclaimed body at its mortuary.
Ahmed Dagane, the hospital’s CEO, emphasized in a notice dated January 10th that the unidentified male adult has been in the facility’s care for four months.
