Over 50 per cent of bodies set to be disposed of in a mass grave from Naivasha sub-county hospital mortuary are victims of road accidents.
According to a notice issued by the Department of Public Health, of the 23 unclaimed bodies, thirteen were brought in by police after accidents, while two died while undergoing treatment.
The department noted that some of the bodies had been unclaimed for over a year, a move that had adversely affected services in the public facility.
READ ALSO: Naivasha village turns into a dumping site for bodies
In the notice signed by Victor Keraa on behalf of the department, some of the bodies had started to decompose after exceeding the required 21 days in the mortuary.
The notice warned that failure to collect the bodies within 21 days would force the department to dispose of them in a mass grave at the Longonot public cemetery.
“This is to notify the general public and relevant authorities that the hospital mortuary has 23 decomposed and unclaimed bodies that have exceeded the 21 limit as per the law. The hospital hereby issues a 21-day notice for the bodies to be claimed; failure to which they will be buried in a mass grave in Longonot,” reads the notice in part.
Of the 23 bodies, 20 are male adults, while the rest are women who passed on in the wards while undergoing treatment.
According to James Kabono from Naivasha Road Safety Association, tens of accident victims did not have identification documents, and hence the high numbers of unidentified bodies.
He said that rescuers and members of the public had a hard time identifying victims, with some losing their identification documents during rescue missions.
“We have noted that many people do not carry their identification documents while others lose them during rescue, making it even harder to reach out to relatives,” he said.
Kabono, at the same time, decried rising cases of fatal accidents involving pedestrians and motorcycle operators in the last couple of weeks, mainly along the Nairobi-Nakuru highway.
He identified KCC, Mithuri, Kayole, Karai, and Raini centers as the most affected by the fatal accidents, mainly in the morning and evenings.
“We have noticed a surge in the number of fatal accidents involving pedestrians, and we hope that KENHA will consider putting up speed bumps on the affected centers,” he said.
