Kenya's largest hospital to dispose of close to 500 unclaimed dead babies

By Andrew Wasike

NAIROBI, Kenya (AA) - Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH), the largest referral hospital in East and Central Africa, has announced plans to dispose of the remains of 475 unclaimed babies.

The hospital has issued a public notice urging families to come forward and claim their loved ones before a week-long deadline.

According to Kenyan law, Kenyatta National Hospital is required to dispose of unclaimed bodies after a specific period.

The hospital has provided a seven-day window in a notice on Tuesday for the public to identify and collect the bodies of their deceased family members.

"Kenyatta National Hospital is in possession of a number of unclaimed bodies at its farewell home," the notice states.

"Interested members of the public are therefore requested to identify and collect the bodies within seven days, failure to which the hospital will seek authority from the courts to dispose of them," KNH said noting that among the unclaimed bodies on the list, there are 475 infants and 66 adults.

This isn't the first time KNH has faced such a situation, in October 2023, the hospital issued a similar notice concerning over 200 unclaimed bodies, with a significant portion being infants.

The underlying reasons for the high number of unclaimed remains remain unclear, KNH has urged the public to visit the Farewell Home or check their website for the list of unclaimed bodies to facilitate identification.