NAKURU: One month after getting a court order to dispose-off twenty unclaimed bodies at the Naivasha sub-county referral hospital mortuary, the exercise has stalled.
The impasse has been caused by lack of land to bury the bodies some of which are in bad condition having stayed in the public facility for over four months.
As a result, the number of uncollected bodies has risen to over 30 in the facility whose capacity is only twelve adversely stretching its facilities.
According to the superintendent in charge of the facility Dr Joseph Mburu, the recent move to close the Naivasha cemetery had contributed to the crisis.
He said that they were seeking funds and permission to bury the bodies at the public cemetery in Gilgil of Longonot.
"We received a court order to dispose the bodies a month ago but unfortunately we don't have any grounds to bury them," he said.
Speaking on Mashujaa day, Mburu admitted that there was a crisis in the area mortuary as the number of unclaimed bodies was on the rise.
"We now have thirty unclaimed bodies and ten more whose relatives are known against a capacity of twelve and this is adversely affecting our operations," he said.
The doctor noted that they were in consultation with the county government on how the bodies which were a health concern could be disposed.
Meanwhile, Meanwhile, Nakuru county government has now identified 14 acres in Mai Mahiu Naivasha to be used as cemetery.
This came as details emerged of a major cemetery crisis in the county with nearly all the grave-sites in the county filled up.
Naivasha, Nakuru and Molo are some of the sub-counties currently facing cemetery land crisis with efforts by the county to buy land hitting the wall.
Nakuru county public health Samuel King'ori said that the 14 acres were a few kilometers off the Mai Mahiu-Narok Road.
Speaking on Tuesday, King'ori said that the land would serve residents of Mai Mahiu who for years have relied on neighboring towns to bury their kin.
"The land is current undergoing an Environmental Assessment Impact (EAI) and the county will buy it once its proven that it can serve as a cemetery land," he said.
King'ori admitted that there was a cemetery crisis in the county due to lack of land or unwillingness by communities to sell their land.
Already Naivasha town cemetery is filled up and the department of public health has banned the burying of bodies on the land that is incidentally located in a residential area.
King'ori said that Naivasha residents would have to use the public cemetery either in Gilgil or Longonot towns to bury their kin.
"The county is ready to buy cemetery land but the process is facing hiccups either due to lack of appropriate land or opposition by the communities," he said.
