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Kenya: Morgue Says Overstretched By Yala River Bodies, Refers Police to Larger Facility
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Kisumu — Siaya’s Yala Sub-County Hospital has asked the police to cease transferring bodies to the facility following an influx of unclaimed bodies recovered from Yala River.
The hospital’s management advised authorities to transfer bodies to Siaya County Referral Hospital saying the capacity of its morgue had been overstretched.
Medical Superintendent Dr Bruno Okall said the hospital’s morgue was not able to accommodate more bodies.
On October 20, 2021, the hospital buried nine unidentified bodies to create space in the morgue.
Dr Okall, in a notice addressed to Officer Commanding Police Division in Gem, said the advisory will remain active until the situation is contained.
“Kindly, use the referral hospital mortuary or any other public hospital mortuary for the time being,” Dr Okall advised.
He however assured that the morgue had reserved capacity for regular services including for use by the hospital when need arises.
The morgue in Yala has seen an influx of unclaimed bodies in recent days following the recovery of over twenty bodies on diverse dates.
The bodies of middle-aged men appeared to have a similar pattern of disposal: being tied to heavy objects in an apparent move to keep them submerged in water.
The trend only worsened in recent months but such cases have been reported over the past two years.
Responding to concerns by human rights defenders for answers, the police responded by sending a forensics team to examine recovered bodies.
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HAKI Africa wrote to DPP Noordin Haji requesting his intervention over the River Yala bodies saga after it emerged some of the victims had been tortured and possibly murdered elsewhere before their bodies were dumped in the river which empties into Lake Victoria.
A family from Kepkelion in Kericho which identified two of twenty-one unclaimed bodies at the morgue in Yala on Thursday said the victims appeared to have been tortured.
Philemon Chepkwony, 37, and one of his three friends disappeared on December 2 after they were reportedly kidnapped.
Chepkwony was with his friends in his car.
“We discovered that he had been tortured and even identifying him positively at first was very difficult,” a family member stated.
Gem OCPD Charles Chacha confirmed that a family identified the body of their kin and the process to ascertain their identification was ongoing.
“We will be doing DNA test before they can be handed over the body,” he said.
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