Family seeks help to trace son’s missing body after wife secretly moves it from mortuary

A family from Munyutu Village in Runyenjes Constituency, Embu County, is seeking assistance to trace the body of their son after it was secretly transferred from a local mortuary to an unknown location by his wife.

This has disrupted the funeral arrangements for 41-year-old consultant surgeon Naftary Munene, who died in an alleged road accident on February 8. His family is now in disarray at their home in Embu.

Munene, who was attached to Kirinyaga Level Five Hospital and had been ailing for some time, allegedly died in Subukia, Nakuru County, when his vehicle veered off the road and hit a culvert while on a trip with his wife, Jane Wangui.

However, his family suspects foul play in the circumstances surrounding his death and questions why his wife chose to take her ailing husband on a night trip from Embu to Nakuru County.

The family had planned a second postmortem after they were dissatisfied with the first one, which they claim was hurriedly done without their involvement.

It was during this process that they discovered Munene’s body had been taken from Gakwegori Funeral Home in Embu without their knowledge.

"By the time we arrived in Nyahururu to view his body hours after his death, we found that the postmortem had already been organized, and despite our refusal, his wife went ahead and conducted it," Munene’s mother, Esther Wanja, lamented.

She said that after the results, which showed Munene had suffered several broken ribs, his body was moved closer to home at Gakwegori Funeral Home with burial arrangements commencing.

However, two days later, on Monday, when the family went to arrange for another postmortem, they discovered the body had been taken away the previous day, Sunday afternoon.

"We were told she (Wangui) picked up the body, wrapped it in a polythene bag, loaded it into a pickup truck, and hurriedly left," said Wanja.

She added that their efforts to trace the body in neighbouring counties have been fruitless, leaving the family in mental anguish, unsure of what happened to their son’s remains.

The morgue has exonerated itself, stating that it had no choice but to release the body to his wife, as she was the one who had booked it in.

"Mourners who used to frequent our home for prayers and funeral arrangements have left, and what we are asking for is assistance to trace his body so that we can give him a proper send-off," she said.

Munene’s father, David Njeru, who visited the alleged accident scene and saw the vehicle, noted that the impact from hitting the culvert could not have killed him, as the vehicle suffered minimal damage.

"We suspect foul play and that is why we are asking detectives to assist us in unravelling the cause of his death," he said.

Village elder Silas Njeru echoed Njeru’s sentiments, urging authorities to step in and end the family's agony.

"Everything here is in disarray; funeral arrangements have stopped, the body of the doctor, who was revered in the village, is missing, and the family is in pain," he said.