This archive report was first published on 30 August 2019.
Body Mix-up at Bungoma Morgue: Wrong Body Buried, Family Demands Justice ¶
On August 14, 2019, mama Mary Sakaria passed away, and her body was taken to Dreamland hospital morgue in Kimilili town for burial preparations. However, when her family went to collect her body on August 26, 2019, they were shocked to find a different body.
After a thorough investigation by mortuary attendants, it was discovered that a body mix-up had occurred at the morgue. A body had been transferred to Lugulu morgue for preservation and was later buried in Sirisia constituency on August 23, 2019.
According to mortuary attendants, a body had been taken to Lugulu Hospital Mortuary by another family and then to Ndakaru in Bungoma West for burial. The next of kin, who is her son, took the body but identified the wrong one due to haste.
The burial ceremony at Sirisia was attended by Senate Speaker Ken Lusaka, Bungoma Governor Wycliffe Wangamati, Sirisia MP John Waluke, and other county officials. They spent over KSh 2 million on funeral expenses, unaware that they had buried the wrong person.
The second family who realized their kin had been buried in Mufungu village are seeking a court order to exhume the body and offer it a decent burial. The deceased family has reported the matter at Kimilili police station.
As the family of mama Mary Sakaria demands justice, a ceremony is set to be performed in both homes according to Bukusu culture to appease the ancestors. The grave dug earlier at mama Sakaria's home should be filled by planting a banana stem, and another one should be dug for the burial of the body.
Published on August 30, 2019, at 07:49:25.
