Tale of a Covid death and spiralling mortuary fees, two years later
Eunice Nyambura Kigera holds a portrait of her husband Humphrey Kigera Mwai. The widow is yet to bury him three years after his death due to accumulated hospital bills.
Eunice Nyambura Kigera is distraught.
For the past two years, the body of her late husband, Humphrey Kigera, has been lying at Umash Funeral Home in Nakuru after he succumbed to Covid-19.
While for many the desire is to give their deceased loved ones a proper send-off and move on with their lives, for the Kigera's it is a different story.
The spot where Mr Kigera's body was to be buried in Orangai village is now overgrown with bushes, a stark reminder of the hurdles they have faced in trying to get the body released for burial.
According to the distraught widow, her family is unable to pay a Sh5.5 million medical bill at Nakuru Nursing Home Hospital, and another accumulating bill at the mortuary.
Eunice Nyambura Kigera speaks to the media at her home in Ol Rongai. She has yet to bury her husband Humphrey Kigera Mwai three years after his death due to an accumulated hospital bill.
She said her husband was rushed to St Joseph's Hospital after developing complications but was later transferred to Nakuru Nursing Home after doctors confirmed he had contracted Covid-19.
He was admitted on September 4, 2021, and spent a month and two days in intensive care.
After a long battle with the disease, he died on October 6, 2021.
He was 74 years old.
A portrait of Humphrey Kigera Mwai who is yet to be buried three years after he died due to an accumulated hospital bill.
The father of three left a huge medical bill at the hospital.
His body has been kept at the Umash funeral parlour, and the bill continues to accumulate due to daily mortuary fees.
With no regular source of income, his one son and two daughters have been unable to pay the medical and mortuary fees to release their father's body.
An official invoice from Nakuru Nursing Home, seen by the Nation, shows that the total bill for Mr Kigera's treatment from September 4 to October 6 was Sh5.5 million.
Meanwhile, at Umash Funeral Home, where the body is being kept, the bill is about Sh1.2 million and continues to accumulate daily.
“When my husband died, we thought that we could give a befitting send-off, but that never came to pass. Two years later, we are still hoping that we will get money so that his body can be released for burial. We are hopeless; we have no one to run to,” she said, tears streaming down her face.
She has left a small area on one side of her farm as a burial site.
A fundraising campaign to pay the bills raised Sh250,000, which was used to pay some of the debts and other small expenses.
Although everyone has lost hope, Ms Kigera is still optimistic that she will one day bury her husband.
“It is my hope that I will be given my husband’s body to bury so that I and my children can see where he is lying. We set aside a place where if his body is released today, he will be buried. The space is enough for even mourners to stand during the ceremony,” she said, pointing to the area.
The widow is now appealing to well-wishers to help her raise the money to pay the bill, and for the hospital and mortuary to consider waiving the fees.
The family is now worried that if the body continues to be kept at the mortuary, they may not be able to bury their relative in good condition as it could deteriorate.
"Since he passed away, I have never known peace. I will find it when he is finally be buried," she said.
