A family in Kisii County is seeking assistance from the government to help bring home the remains of their kin, who passed away in Lebanon nearly a month ago.
The family received the harrowing news that their kin, Emily Nyamoita Nyabuto, had passed away under unclear circumstances, but they have yet to receive her body.
In the letter sent to her family from Beirut, the immigration authorities detailed the complex process involved in the repatriation process, which requires several formalities and expenses to ensure the remains are returned to Kenya.
Among the costs that the family is supposed to incur are transport costs, right from the ambulance, which initially took the late Emily to the hospital. There are also expenses around the forensic doctor's official report, expenses for storing the body at the Hariri Hospital mortuary in Beirut, and the translation and legalisation of her death certificate.
In addition, the deceased's body must be washed and shrouded according to religious customs, and her body will undergo embalming by a forensic doctor.
Further, quarantine procedures are also necessary to ensure compliance with health regulations, as the body needs to be wrapped in a white sheet and a nylon cover. A special coffin specially made for airline travel is also required in the repatriation process.
In addition to transport costs for a funeral car to transport the body from Hariri Hospital to Beirut International Airport, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health must authorise the sealing of the coffin with red wax, while the Immigration Directorate also requires the completion of specific formalities and payment of the necessary clearances.
With all these procedures and associated costs, the family has been left struggling to understand how they can bring their daughter home.
The family, based in Riosugo Village in Bobasi Constituency, is now appealing to the government to intervene in the repatriation process, particularly in the costs to bring the body back home.
Emily left Kenya in 2023 seeking better opportunities abroad and was expected to jet back into the country in June 2025. However, the family received news of her death instead, with the deceased's mother detailing the final conversation.
"This girl had planned to return. I even spoke with her on the 14th, and it was a friend who knew her well who called to inform us she had passed away. Even her sister is now in bad condition in the hospital,'' the mother, Janes Mokeira, explained.
Another relative described the deceased as the breadwinner of the household, with her death leaving the family in a wave of uncertainty.
