Grave mistake! Family forced to cancel burial after body goes missing in mortuary

Piece by: Mpasho News
Lifestyle

A family in Nyeri got a rude shock after the body of their kin who was set to be buried Wednesday at her rural home in Othaya Constituency went missing from the Nyeri Funeral Home.

Family and friends of 77-year-old Monicah Mumbi were forced to cancel her burial ceremony at the last minute after morticians were unable to trace her body.

Confusion arose when the family was given the wrong body and the mix-up caused a standoff for hours between the mourners and the mortuary staff, as they demanded answers over the 'mysterious' disappearance of their kin’s remains.

The body of the woman who died at home was taken to the facility for preservation on Tuesday last week.

Loise Wangari, daughter of the deceased, said the body they were given did not match the physical features of her mother.

“My mother was using dentures which were left at home when the body was taken to the mortuary and the body they gave us was of a woman who had all her teeth intact,” contended Wangari.

Besides tracing the body, the family demanded compensation for the expenses they had incurred in burial preparations.

“We want to be told how and where to trace the body of our loved one,” one of the mourners demanded.

The Outspan Hospital Administration that runs the funeral home apologised to the family for the mix-up with an assurance that investigations would be undertaken to address the anomaly.

“We want to assure the family that they will get the body and will be able to bury her even if not today,” said one of the administrators who identified herself with one name as Grace.