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The Nairobi City County Government has issued a seven-day ultimatum to the public for the collection of 295 unclaimed bodies currently lying at the Nairobi Funeral Home (City Mortuary).
In a public notice, the county warned that failure to collect the bodies within the stipulated time would compel it to seek legal authority for their disposal.
The notice, signed by Godfrey Akumali, the Acting County Secretary and Head of Public Service, stated that the deceased had been lying unclaimed at the facility for extended periods.
“Pursuant to the Public Health Act Cap 242 [Subsidiary, Public Health (Public Mortuaries) Rules, 1991], interested members of the public are asked to identify and collect the below-named bodies within seven (7) days, failure to which the Nairobi City County will seek authority for disposal,” the notice read.
The county listed the causes of death as varied, including accidents, mob justice, drowning, murder, shooting, and, in some cases, abortion.
While a number of the bodies have been identified by name, several others remain of unknown identity.
The preservation and disposal of bodies is a devolved function, handled by the country’s 47 county governments.
Under current standard operating procedures developed by the National Coroner, mortuary officials are required to trace fingerprints from each unclaimed body via the National Registration Bureau.
In addition, autopsies must be performed to determine the cause of death, even for bodies not involved in criminal investigations.
These requirements, though vital, place a significant burden on already strained public mortuary systems.
The Public Health Act Cap 242 stipulates that no person shall keep a body in a public mortuary for more than 10 days.
In cases where a body remains unclaimed for 21 days, and after issuing a 14-day public notice, a hospital or county authority is legally permitted to dispose of it—usually through mass burial—upon securing a court order.
