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Amnesty International Kenya has strongly opposed Nairobi County’s plan to dispose of 120 unclaimed bodies within seven days, arguing that the move could undermine the dignity of the dead.
Nairobi County Governor Johnson Sakaja announced that the bodies were collected by police officers from 22 different police stations across the city and were stored between May 12, 2023 and April 28, 2024. Most of the unclaimed bodies were male, while 15 were identified as females and one as a child. Causes of death included accidents, mob violence, medical conditions and shootings.
“Kasarani has the highest number of cases (five), but other stations such as Kamukungi, Shauri Moyo, Huruma and Dandora are also involved. Deaths by shooting have been reported in Kasarani and Kilimani.” Amnesty International said.
Amnesty International Kenya highlighted the risks of large-scale disposal of unclaimed bodies in a statement issued on Monday, August 26. The organization stressed that the responsibility for the preservation and disposal of the dead lies with the 47 county governments.
Irũngũ Houghton, director of Amnesty International’s Kenya branch, criticised the public institutions with this responsibility for being often underfunded and poorly managed.
“After visiting the Yala mortuary in 2022, the Malindi mortuary in February this year, and several mortuaries in Nairobi over the past three months, it is clear that our public institutions are severely underfunded and under-regulated.” He said.
Improper disposal of unclaimed bodies
Horton noted that funeral homes’ past practices included improper handling of unclaimed bodies, such as the absence of individual body bags, metal tags, and the use of unseemly mass graves that resembled garbage dumps. He also noted that the state coroner had introduced standard operating procedures requiring funeral directors to trace the fingerprints of every unclaimed body to the National Registry and to perform an autopsy to determine the cause of death.
Amnesty International Kenya is concerned that it is unclear whether these procedures have been followed for all 120 bodies to be disposed of. The group is also troubled by the short seven-day notice period, which may not be enough time for families to check whether their missing relatives are among the unclaimed bodies.
Additionally, Amnesty International Kenya questioned the level of public scrutiny of the disposal process and how the Nairobi funeral home and the governor protected themselves from potential future legal problems.
“How do we ensure that the standard operating procedures that are in place are followed and that basic dignity is afforded to the deceased? What is the level of public scrutiny in the handling of these bodies? How can funeral homes and governors protect themselves in the future if anything goes wrong?” the organization asked.
Amnesty International Kenya has called for clear guidelines on the handling of unclaimed bodies, particularly in light of recent controversy surrounding protester deaths and ongoing disappearances.
The group stressed the need for funeral directors and allied professionals associations, county governments and the state coroner to work together to develop and publicly share transparent and detailed procedures for handling unclaimed bodies.
“Given the controversy surrounding protester deaths and the unresolved cases of missing persons, it is critical that clear and transparent guidelines for handling unclaimed bodies are developed and issued.” Amnesty International Kenya concluded.
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