Kilifi Governor wants Shakahola bodies moved from morgue for renovation
By Farhiya Hussein |
Governor Mung’aro urged the government to expedite the identification of those bodies so their families could come and take them to pave the way and rebuild the mortuary.
Kilifi Governor Gideon Mung’aro has appealed to the government to expedite the identification process for the families of Shakahola victims whose bodies are currently at Malindi Hospital.
He emphasised that the delay in this process has hindered their plans to renovate the hospital.
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“By the end of this year, we will have 10 intensive care beds for critically ill patients in Malindi. When you go to the hospital, you will see we have started building a place for critically ill patients. We will demolish the mortuary and move it to the back of the hospital. We are to build a modern place to preserve the bodies, but currently, we are troubled by bodies from Shakahola that are at the morgue...that is why we have not started,” he said.
Governor Mung’aro urged the government to expedite the identification of those bodies so their families could come and take them to pave the way and rebuild the mortuary.
Mung’aro's call underscores the urgency of providing closure to affected families while also addressing the infrastructural needs of healthcare facilities in the region.
New maternity wards
He mentioned a facility for new maternity wards for mothers, accident victims, and outpatients will be built in Malindi noting it will cost Sh2.5 million and it will start next month.
Speaking in Malindi on Saturday during the burial of the renowned Mijikenda artist Mzee Masha Iha Thoya, Mung’aro blamed the lack of equipment at the Malindi Hospital having led to the deceased being transferred to Kilifi Hospital.
“His children tried, when we saw Malindi Hospital was overwhelmed because there were no beds for critically ill patients, we took him to Kilifi. If only we had the equipment, he would not have died,” said Governor Mung’aro.
The plans also include the transformation of Muyeye to become a Mother and Children Hospital.
Two weeks ago, the government pathologist Johansen Oduor announced that the government will resume its exercise of exhuming bodies from the Shakahola forest in March.
So far the state has conducted autopsies on 429 bodies and is waiting for the DNA results.
He said the government is considering a mass grave on some of the exhumed bodies as their families have refused to get their DNA tested for matching.
According to Oduor, the families don’t want to be associated with their kin as they had willingly joined Pastor Paul Mackenzie’s church.
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