Kenyatta National Hospital has released a list of unclaimed bodies currently housed in its funeral home, urging the public to step forward and identify their loved ones within seven days. Failure to do so will result in the hospital proceeding with the disposal process.
The decision to dispose of these bodies, as outlined by KNH, aligns with the provisions of the Public Health Act Cap 242 Subsidiary legislation Public Health Public Mortuaries rules, 1991.
Among the 541 unclaimed bodies listed, there are 475 infants and 66 adults. Of the adult bodies, seven are female, with the remaining 59 being male.
“Kenyatta National Hospital is in possession of a number of unclaimed bodies at its farewell home,” stated KNH.
“Pursuant to the 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 emphasized.
The list of unclaimed bodies has been published in the My Gov section of Tuesday’s newspaper.
This isn’t the first time KNH has taken steps regarding unclaimed bodies at its mortuary. Last October, the hospital issued a 14-day notice for the public to collect 224 unclaimed bodies.
Throughout the country, various hospitals grapple with the responsibility of preserving unclaimed bodies. Many of these individuals are brought in as emergency cases or are victims of accidents, with their bodies taken to morgues either by good Samaritans or law enforcement responding to incidents.
For instance, in September of last year, the Machakos government announced plans to dispose of 31 unclaimed bodies at the Machakos Level 5 Hospital mortuary.
