Body of 101-year-old woman in burial mix up exhumed

The body presumed to be that of Zeddy Chelangat Chumo, a 101-year-old has been exhumed in Konoin, Bomet County.

Kericho Principal Magistrate Peter Ngetich issued the exhumation orders after an application was made by the police and the two families affected by a mix-up that occurred at a mortuary when the body was collected. 

A family at Michira village, Kamogomon sub location of Kaptebengwet location (in Konoin constituency) mistakenly picked the body on December 10, 2021 from AIC Litein Hospital mortuary and went ahead to bury it the following day without realising it was not that of their kin.

Ms Chumo is said to have passed on in her sleep in the morning of December, 7, 2021 at Mabasai village, Roret location in Bureti constituency, Kericho county and her body was taken to Litein AIC Hospital mortuary for preservation.

But it was mistaken for that of Grace Chemutai Cheruiyot, a 97-year-old resident of Kaptebengwet in Konoin, Bomet county who succumbed to illness at the hospital on November, 29.

“The exhumation was supervised by Chief Inspector Geoffrey Rintari, the Officer Commanding Station (OCS) Litein police station with officers from Kaptebenget Police Station,” the police said in a dispatch.

According to the police, the exhumed body was subsequently taken to Litein AIC Hospital mortuary.

Members of the two families, accompanied by villagers, watched the proceedings from a distance as police supervised the exhumation by public health officers.

Immediately after the exhumation, two bananas were planted in the grave in line with Kipsigis traditions, in what is meant to wade off bad omen for the family.

A mix up in the release of the bodies was realised last Friday, a week after Ms Chumo's body had already been buried when her family members came to pick her body for internment.

“Following the death of our grandmother, we delivered the body to the mortuary. After ensuring all the records were in order, we left for home to prepare for her burial. We had no idea that in a few days, we would be grappling with the case of a missing body,” said Mr Nixon Kiprop, a grandchild of the deceased.

Mr Joel Ngetich, a son of the deceased, said all they wanted was to be given the body of their kin for burial so as to bring the matter to a close.

“There are so many questions surrounding the mix up. The hospital administration has to put its act together. For now, we want this confusion sorted so we can proceed with the funeral ceremony,” said Mr Ngetich.

The mourners who arrived at the mortuary at 11am on Friday were shocked to find the wrong body marked as that of their loved one.

“We ran through the list of bodies that had been booked at the morgue, when they were picked by the next of kin and their contacts. We finally narrowed down to four. After a series of phone calls, we finally traced the family to Kaptebengwet village in Bomet county,” said Mr Kiprop.

It emerged that the body had been mistaken for that of Mrs Cheruiyot who died on November 29, 2021 while undergoing treatment at the hospital.

Unfortunate occurrence

“It is a case of poor record keeping at the morgue. It is important that proper tagging of the bodies be done by the administration of the facility to avoid recurrence of such sad incidents,” said Mr Kiprop.

Mr Stanley Ruto, the first born of Ms Cheruiyot, whose body has been lying at the mortuary for the last three weeks, blamed the mortuary attendants for the mix up.

He revealed that his late mother had been ailing from way back in 1984 when she suffered mild stroke and that she passed on while undergoing treatment at Litein AIC Hospital on November 29 and the body was moved to the mortuary.

The hospital Chief Executive Officer Charles Terer and the administrator Mr Richard Koech settled on the exhumation after several hours of consultation with the affected families in the presence of the police.

“We are relieved that the body has been exhumed and we are looking forward to being handed that of our mother for burial so we can bring this to an end,” said Mr Ruto.

Speaking on behalf of the family of the late Ms Chumo, Mr Joel Ngetich said the verification process will follow so as to avoid further confusion.

“We are looking forward to concluding the proper identification, release and burial of the remains of our grandmother,” said Mr Ngetich.

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