Morticians are furious at the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) over a proposed move to punish drunk drivers by making them work in mortuaries.
National Funeral Services Association of Kenya Chairperson Ezra Olack rubbished the proposal and demanded that the NTSA respect their profession.
He stated: “Stop demeaning our profession. The work we do is very important. We have a code of ethics and code of conduct that all our staff have to abide by.
“We are not going to allow people to come and ruin our profession. I'm sure that the person who made the proposal was joking," he went on to add.
Mr Olack further noted that if the proposal was to be implemented, the NTSA should be ready to face numerous court battles.
He suggested that the NTSA consider increasing penalties for drunk drivers instead of sending them to work in morgues.
[caption caption="An NTSA official administers Alcoblow on a motorist"]
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Mr Olack called on the Government to pay more attention to their profession and bridge the unemployment gap in the process.
He stated: “People think that mortuary attendants are society rejects and drug addicts. They don't know that we also go to school and learn how to take care of dead bodies.
“One has to be trained on how to do all these procedures,” Olack concluded.
NTSA Director-General Francis Meja had on Monday caused a storm after announcing that a new policy was being formulated to come up with new ways of punishing drunk drivers, including making them work in mortuaries.
“We cannot have notorious drunk drivers causing accidents yet when they appear in court the penalty is very lenient. Once we have the new policy ready then we shall ensure it becomes law,” he stated.
[caption caption="NTSA Director-General Francis Meja"]
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