Burial aborts after body goes missing from mortuary

After a week of mourning, a family in Othaya has been forced to cancel the burial of their kin after the body went missing from the Outspan Hospital mortuary.

A dozen mourners had assembled at the morgue on Tuesday to collect the body for transportation to Gaturuturu village.

The body of Ms Monicah Mumbi, 77, was taken to the facility last week for preservation awaiting the burial on Tuesday.

But the mourners were shocked when the mortuary attendants produced a body of a woman the family could not recognise.

Shock-stricken

The shock-stricken family members said the two bodies have different features, saying their relative had white hair, was balding and had some of her teeth missing.

Ms Loise Wangari, a daughter of the deceased, said they declined to take the body.

"My mother was using dentures since she didn’t have some teeth. The dentures were left home when she was brought to the mortuary. However, the body they are giving is of a woman with almost all teeth intact. How could we have accepted it?" Ms Wangari posed.

The family lamented they had incurred huge losses preparing for the funeral that was not to be.

"We must be compensated for the losses we have incurred," she added, saying the hospital should be responsible for organising another burial.

Outspan Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Jeff Muigai regretted giving the family the wrong body, insisting that they will conduct a thorough investigation into the matter.