Why City Hall stopped City Mortuary from receiving unidentified bodies from police

A tense standoff unfolded on Thursday between staff at the Nairobi Funeral Home formerly known as City Mortuary and police officers after the mortuary workers refused to accept more bodies.

This conflict arose because the Nairobi County Government had ordered the workers to turn away bodies, citing that the facility had reached its full capacity. According to City Hall, the mortuary is currently overwhelmed, holding 607 bodies—far exceeding its capacity of 184.

Nairobi City County government Chief Officer for Public Health Tom Nyakaba confirmed that the morgue was overstretched and full.

"Today we have stopped Nairobi Funeral Home from admitting unclaimed bodies because the morgue has only a capacity of 184. As we speak we have 607 bodies and this means even the staff cannot be able to function normally," he said.

The police, tasked with transporting unidentified bodies from crime scenes and accidents, protested the decision, arguing that it hindered their ability to perform their duties.

Some better part of the days officers were left stranded, forced to keep the bodies in their vehicles due to the access denial.

In a bid to resolve the situation, they returned to the mortuary at night but were again turned away.

The junior officers had no authority in this matter, leading to higher-ranking officials stepping in, yet they too faced the same refusal.

After nearly nine hours of waiting with the deceased in their vehicles, senior police officers managed to contact leaders at City Hall, who eventually permitted the registration of some bodies.

City Hall is currently grappling with how to approach the situation with the Nairobi Mortuary full to the brim.

The mortuary was built in 1953 and has remained as Nairobi's main public morgue up to date.

The morgue has a capacity of 184 bodies but can even hold 350 bodies due to unclaimed bodies which are mainly dumped there.

On March 26, 2024, when the Senate's Standing Committee on Health visited the facility, they were welcomed by shocking revelations.

The committee led by its chairman Jackson Mandago was first treated to a power blackout at the facility which then led to unearthing disturbing details about the facility

Despite the power blackout, the Senator discovered that there was no backup generator in the facility that was built in 1953.

With no electricity, what awaited the Senators was a stench so strong that some could not walk into the cold rooms.

During the visit, the senators discovered that chemicals used for embalming were kept inside jerry cans which hung above every slab.

The next stop was the chemical store which the Senators said was untidy and had very old cages.

Some of the mortuary staff including interns interviewed by the senators, who didn't reveal their identity, claimed that all was not well at the morgue.