Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) has urged families with bodies at its Farewell Home to collect them.
In a notice displayed on Wednesday, May 3, on My Gov, the hospital said that if the bodies remain uncollected within the next seven days, it will seek a green light from the court to dispose of them.
"Kenyatta National Hospital is in possession of a number of unclaimed bodies at its Farewell Home," the hospital said.
"Pursuant to the Public Health Act Cap 242 [Subsidiary Legislation PUBLIC HEALTH (PUBLIC MORTUARIES) RULES, 1991], interested members of the public are therefore requested to identify and collect the bodies within 7 days, failure to which the hospital will seek authority from the courts to dispose of them," it added.
According to the notice, most of the bodies, 100, belong to children, while the rest, 24 bodies, belong to adults.
For those interested, a list of unclaimed bodies can be found at the KNH Farewell Home and is also accessible on the institution’s website.
Under the Public Health Act (Cap 242), no body can remain in a mortuary for more than 10 days without being claimed.
If a body remains unclaimed for 21 days, authorities or the hospital are required to obtain a court order to dispose of it.
After approval from the court, the bodies are buried in public cemeteries or mass graves, often without any funeral rites.
The disposal of the bodies is critical in the management of space in mortuaries.
It is not the first time KNH has announced that it will dispose of bodies. Just six months ago, on November 26, 2024, the hospital also announced that it would dispose of 262 bodies of both children and adults if they remained unclaimed.
"Kenyatta National Hospital is in possession of a number of unclaimed bodies at its Farewell Home. Pursuant to Public Health Act Cap 243 (Subsidiary Legislation Public Health [Public Mortuaries] Rules, 1991)," KNH said in the notice back then.
