How Nairobi City morgue deals with an unidentified body

Nairobi City Morgue. [Photo/Daily Nation]

How Nairobi City morgue deals with an unidentified body

Confirmed reports have revealed that as at September 2, 273 bodies lie unclaimed in Nairobi morgues with 172 of them lying at the Nairobi City Mortuary.

One would ask, so how do these facilities deal with the ever-increasing number of unidentified bodies. Below is the standard procedure.

  1. Registration – The police register it and another registration conducted before the body is issued with an identification tag. Fingerprints are taken too.
  2. The information is then forwarded to the person’s local area sub-chief or chief so as to inform his family.
  3. If the family fails to show up the morgue is allowed to preserve the body for three months.
  4. After three months of no response from a close family member, the police seek a court order to allow the deceased to be buried at Lang’ata cemetery.