NYERI, Kenya Nov 11 – A family in Othaya was forced to cancel a burial ceremony at the eleventh hour after the body of their kin went missing from the mortuary.
Family and friends had travelled to Nyeri Funeral Home on Tuesday to collect the body for interment at Gaturuturu village in Othaya but morticians could not trace it.
The family declined to take the body given to them at the mortuary, saying it did not belong to their kin.
The body of Monicah Mumbi, a 77-year-old woman was taken to the facility on Tuesday last week for preservation ahead of the burial.
A daughter of the deceased, Loise Wangari, said that they declined to take the body they had been given after the physical features on the body failed to match with those of her mother.
“My mother was using dentures since all her teeth had gone off and they were left at home when the body was taken to the morgue. The body they are giving is of a woman with almost all teeth on. How could we have accepted it? she posed.
Outspan Hospital administration which operates the funeral home said an investigation will be undertaken on the matter.
The hospital’s Medical Superintendent Doctor Jeff Muigai apologized to the family for the inconvenience caused, and pledged for patience.
The family has demanded compensation for burial plans expenses incurred.
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