Kenyatta National Hospital has released a list of 480 unclaimed bodies lying in its mortuary.
According to a public notice issued Tuesday morning, the hospital noted that of the 480 bodies, 102 are adults while 378 are children.
The facility is calling on families to identify and collect the unclaimed bodies within seven days, warning that it will seek court approval to dispose of the remains if they are not collected within the stipulated period in accordance with public health regulations.
“Kenyatta National Hospital is in possession of a number of unclaimed bodies at its Farewell Home. Pursuant to the Public Health Act Cap 242 and the Public Health (Public Mortuaries) Rules, 1991,interested members of public are therefore urged to identify and collect the bodies within seven days, failure to which the hospital will seek authority from the court to dispose them,” read the statement.
According to the Public Health (Public Mortuaries) Rules, 1991, under the Public Health Act (Cap 242) of the Laws of Kenya, a dead body should not be kept in a public mortuary for more than 10 days.
The law stipulates that any person who fails to comply with the requirements of this rule shall pay to the Medical Officer of Health a penalty of one hundred shillings for each day the body remains uncollected.
Bodies that remain unclaimed for 21 days may be legally disposed of by the hospital or local authority. This typically requires obtaining a court order or issuing a public notice often 7 to 14 days in newspapers or through public announcements.
https://knh.or.ke/index.php/disposal-of-unclaimed-bodies/
