Only seven bodies from Huruma tragedy have been identified so far

Out of the 28 bodies retrieved from the rubble of the collapsed Huruma building, only seven have been identified.

The Directorate of the Criminal Investigations (DCI) officials handling the cases said identification had been slowed by a low turn-out of relatives and friends.

Police confirmed that the bodies at the city mortuary had decomposed, saying this was likely to slow down identification further.

"Because of the nature of the bodies it will take time to identify them," the DCI boss Ndegwa Muhoro," said.

Mr Muhoro said that for a body to be cleared for an autopsy examination, relatives must fill out a form with details of the deceased and evidence that they positively identified the body before being cleared to record a statement. Anthony Lusiena, who lost relatives, claimed he was frustrated at the mortuary when he went to identify the bodies.

"These mortuary attendants and the Government officials are unfair to us. We went to the mortuary to identify the bodies but they look like they work under some strict instructions from the top," Mr Lusiena said.

Positively identified

"They hurriedly pull out the cabinets with bodies and only ask us to see the legs of the victims. You can't even identify the body," he added.

Lusiena said 90 per cent of the bodies he saw in the mortuary had decomposed and could not be easily identified. Kevin Oduor, 28, who lost his 18-month-old child, is among those who have positively identified their relatives.

However, Mr Oduor wondered why the Government was dragging its feet in conducting postmortems on the bodies and releasing to them for burial.

"It the Government had carried out a postmortem on my baby (Liam Omondi), I would have transferred him to Chiromo Mortuary as I make burial arrangements," he told The Standard.

"This Government is adding to our pain. They must hurry up with the postmortem exercise and release the bodies to us. We cannot wait long because the state of the bodies is pathetic," he added.

The Disaster Management Unit is working 24 hours a day as they race against time trying to save those still alive.