Naivasha Level IV hospital disposes 27 decomposing bodies

The management of Naivasha Level IV hospital has finally disposed of 27 decomposing bodies, even as some politicians alleged that this included some of the youths who went missing during the Gen-Z protests.

The bodies were interred in a mass grave in a Longonot public cemetery in a hushed ceremony conducted in the wee hours of Tuesday and supervised by public health officers.

The move comes a couple of days after some leaders led by former DP Rigathi Gachagua alleged that bodies of some of the missing victims of the Gen-Z protests had been dumped in the county mortuary.

Confirming the disposal, the superintendent in charge of the hospital, Dr Bernard Warui, noted that this was a normal procedure that happened quarterly in the hospital.

He defended the exercise, noting that it was carried out through the support of the DCI and public health department, adding that the hospital had followed the legal process as per the law.

He wondered why this particular exercise had drawn so much attention as disposal of bodies is routine and occurs every year.

Warui dismissed allegations that some of the bodies belonged to Gen-Z protesters, noting that many of the victims died either in hospitals or from road accidents.

He said some of the bodies, which include minors, have been lying in this hospital for over one year, and the allegations that there are victims of the recent demonstrations are farfetched.

Speaking over the weekend in Naivasha, the former DP alleged that some victims of the deadly protests were dumped in the facility by police.

Gachagua questioned the move to dispose of the bodies in a mass grave without giving the parents of missing youths a chance to view the bodies.

Earlier, the Department of Public Health had issued a 21-day notice for families to claim the bodies, failure to which they would be disposed of in a mass grave.

According to the notice, the public facility had 27 badly decomposed bodies that had exceeded the required 21 days according to the public health act.