There was drama outside Embu mortuary on Wednesday after a family failed to find the body of their kin that had been picked by another family for burial.
The family had gone to the facility to collect body of their kin for burial on Tuesday only to be given another body.
On questioning, the family members were informed that their kin’s body was already handed to another family and that they had already left for burial.
Daisy Karimi who hails from Gatunduri village in Kiangima location in Embu West died last week after a battle with illness at Embu Level 5 hospital and was to be laid to rest at her matrimonial home at Gatunduri village in Embu West.
Family members who turned in large numbers to collect the body of their loved one castigated the mortuary management for releasing bodies without proper confirmation.
"You cannot give out bodies blindly without confirmation from the family members, " one of the family members said.
They said that they have incurred large losses preparing for the burial that did not take place.
The burial for their kin had already taken place in Kathagari in Embu West by the time they realized that the body was wrongly identified.
"We came here at 9 am to collect the body of Daisy but the morgue attendants gave us a different body," protested Purity Munyi, the deceased’s sister.
The family and friends wondered how the confusion had made its way to the mortuary subjecting them to suffering.
"We are very disappointed with the management of the morgue. It should be disbanded because it has even caused more grief to us,” a mourner identified as Nyaga said.
He expressed that they had been kept for long waiting for an explanation on what had happened by mortuary attendants but all in vain.
"What we are wondering is, did this family which were given our body really present the legal identification documents as required by law for the families collecting bodies from mortuary, “said Nyaga.
Security guards at the mortuary’s gate had to lock the gate to contain angry mourners.
Embu Level 5 medical Superintendent Dr Daniel Mugendi said one family which had come to collect the body of their deceased wrongly identified their kin.
"Earlier in the day, we had some relatives who came to collect one of their deceased persons, unfortunately, they did not identify the body appropriately, and they carried the wrong body,” Daniel said.
Dr Mugendi said they are trying to do the necessary documentation through the court so that every grieved parties can eventually bury their correct kins.
