Of Uhuru's advice and rat allegations: Gatundu mortuary's unending saga

 

The question of how the dead are handled at the public facility has returned to the centre of public debate, following allegations rats ate up a body being held at the old mortuary. [File, Standard]

For more than a decade, Gatundu’s mortuary has been at the centre of a debate shaped by cultural sensitivities, public resistance and concerns about access to essential health services.

In August 2013, President Uhuru Kenyatta visited Gatundu District Hospital, where he opened a newly constructed ward and witnessed the laying of a foundation stone for a new hospital wing funded by the Chinese government.

The visit marked part of efforts to expand the facility’s healthcare infrastructure, which would later see it upgraded to a Level Four hospital and subsequently a Level Five facility.

When he was called to address the residents, late former Gatundu South MP Joseph Ngugi called for the expansion of the mortuary at Gatundu District Hospital, now Gatundu County Referral Hospital.

The proposal was met with opposition from some residents, who viewed an expanded mortuary as a bad omen that could signal more deaths in the community.

Former President Kenyatta when he rose to speak advised Ngugi that some matters were not meant to be discussed publicly, an observation that captured the unease surrounding the proposal at the time.

Ngugi eventually withdrew his request following the public backlash.

The debate reflected the cultural sensitivities surrounding death and mortuary services among sections of the Kikuyu community, where such matters have traditionally been handled discreetly.

More than a decade later, the question of how the dead are handled at the public facility has returned to the centre of public debate, this time following allegations that rodents damaged the body of a 23-year-old man while it was being held at the old mortuary.

The claims have reignited anger over the condition of the ageing facility, which continues to serve Gatundu South and Gatundu North despite longstanding concerns about its capacity and equipment.

A new mortuary has been completed but remains unopened. The controversy has raised a difficult question: Why is the old facility still in use when its replacement is yet to become operational?

The allegations came into public focus on Sunday, October 11, when Kelvin’s uncle, Paul Kamau, was filmed walking through Gatundu County Referral Hospital as he protested what he claimed was damage to his nephew’s body at the old mortuary.

In the video, Kamau criticised the facility’s condition and urged Kiambu Governor Kimani Wamatangi’s administration to prioritise mortuary services.

“Everybody who is in that mortuary has no lips, and others are being eaten by rodents and rats,” he said, alleging that the facility was in a deplorable state.

Family’s anguish

He also questioned a reported Sh1,000 charge for injecting a body, asking: “Why did they not inject him when he was still alive?”

Kamau accused the county government of neglecting essential services in favour of other development initiatives.

“All that Governor Kimani Wamatangi can give us is piglets and chicken, which do not survive. Let him construct the mortuary. That is where we are all heading,” he said.

Speaking later, after emotions had cooled down, Kamau and another relative, Chege Kirunyu, described what they said they had encountered at the facility.

Kamau insisted that his complaint was not politically motivated, saying he had personally visited the mortuary and witnessed conditions he considered unacceptable.

“I am not speaking about politics. I went there to see my nephew and I witnessed the situation personally. The officer in charge told me that the damage I saw had been caused by rats and that they were trying to spray the bodies,” he said. “This is unacceptable. A mortuary should have proper stainless-steel storage facilities, working freezers, water and basic hygiene.”

Kamau alleged that the family found what appeared to be bite marks on the body when they returned to the facility. He accused hospital staff of failing to address their concerns adequately.

“We took our nephew there and later found that his body had been badly bitten. When we asked what had happened, we were told there were rats and were simply asked to return the following day,” he said.

The family called on the county government to improve mortuary services, arguing that deceased persons deserved dignified treatment and proper preservation.

Kirunyu questioned why families continued to rely on the old mortuary while the new facility remained closed. He also raised concerns about charges for preserving bodies amid questions over the adequacy of the available equipment.

“Gatundu Hospital and other hospitals across Kiambu County need urgent attention, including water, medicine, equipment and proper facilities. Leaders should stop making excuses and do the work they were elected to do,” he said. The relatives further alleged that they faced harassment after raising concerns about the facility.

Their claims have not been independently verified, and no independent assessment confirming a rodent infestation or negligence at the mortuary has been made public.

An old facility, a new mortuary

At the centre of the dispute is a facility reportedly designed to accommodate just nine bodies while serving residents from two expansive constituencies.

The old mortuary, estimated to be about 60 years old, has faced recurring concerns over capacity, refrigeration and other operational challenges.

In June 2023, the hospital’s then medical superintendent, Dr Jesse Ngugi, wrote to police commanders in Gatundu South and Gatundu North warning that the mortuary could no longer accommodate bodies beyond its usual hospital workload.

In a letter dated June 7, 2023, Dr Ngugi cited an increased workload, broken mortuary freezers and delays in processing unclaimed bodies as some of the factors placing pressure on the facility.

“The purpose of this letter is to inform you that, owing to the foregoing, we will not be able to receive bodies outside the usual hospital workload. Kindly consider taking such bodies to General Kago Funeral Home in Thika,” the letter stated. The warning illustrated the operational challenges facing the mortuary more than three years before the latest controversy.

Residents have also complained about a foul smell emanating from the facility, particularly at night.

“This place becomes a no-go zone, especially at night, because of the foul stench coming from the morgue. The situation should be addressed immediately by the relevant authorities,” said resident James Mburu.

The continued use of the old facility has raised questions about the readiness of its replacement and why the new mortuary has yet to open.

For residents, the issue is no longer simply whether the old structure is adequate, but also whether the county has taken the necessary steps to ensure that the replacement can provide the services for which it was built.

The questions have also revived memories of the 2013 dispute, when Ngugi’s proposal to expand the mortuary met resistance from residents who feared that a larger facility could be interpreted as anticipating more deaths.

More than a decade later, the debate has shifted from whether the mortuary should be expanded to whether the existing facility can continue operating under the reported conditions.

Hospital disputes allegations

The county government responded to the claims circulating on social media by releasing a 29-second video featuring Gatundu County Referral Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Jemima Kariuki.

In the video, Kariuki dismissed claims that rodents were present in the mortuary, saying the hospital had a pest and vector control policy and that no rodents had been reported or observed during assessments.

“We have had the morgue reviewed, we have a pest and vector control policy and there are no rodents that have been reported or that we have seen. All our bodies are well preserved according to the regulated standards. We do embalming, and we have refrigeration,” she said. However, the video featured the newly completed mortuary, which is yet to become operational, while the family’s allegations concern the old facility still in use.

The distinction raised questions about whether the hospital’s response directly addressed the relatives’ claims about the ageing mortuary.

The competing accounts have yet to be reconciled through an independent assessment.

County gives a different account

On October 14, Kiambu County Chief Officer for Health Services Dr Patrick Nyaga rejected allegations that the hospital had mishandled Kelvin’s body, offering a different account of the events leading to the young man’s death and the subsequent dispute with his family.

Speaking at the hospital, Nyaga said Kelvin had been rescued by police after suffering severe injuries in an alleged mob attack in Kibichoi, Githunguri.

According to Nyaga, Kelvin was initially taken to Kigumo Hospital before being referred to Gatundu Level Five Hospital, where he received emergency and intensive care treatment.

The young man later died from multiple injuries to the head, chest, abdomen and limbs, the chief officer said.

Nyaga explained that because the case involved police, the body was transferred to the mortuary and a post-mortem examination was required to establish the cause and extent of the injuries.

He said the family was informed about charges for mortuary and post-mortem services but requested assistance to have the post-mortem waived and the body transferred to Kigumo.

A disagreement subsequently arose during discussions with the family, Nyaga said, with Kelvin’s uncle accusing the hospital of poor care and alleging that the body had been “denatured” while at the mortuary. According to the chief officer, the family, police and hospital management later held a meeting, after which the family obtained and signed an affidavit through the local judiciary waiving the post-mortem.

Nyaga said the document indicated that the family understood Kelvin had died from injuries sustained during the alleged mob attack. The body was subsequently released and transferred to Kigumo Sub-County Hospital Mortuary.

The county official also accused Thika MP Alice Ng’ang’a and Githunguri MP Gathoni Wamuchomba of fuelling political tensions and disrupting health services in Kiambu.

He said a reported invasion of Gatundu Level Five Hospital had forced management to close the gates, deploy reinforcements and screen people seeking entry, resulting in delays to some emergency services.

“I urge political leaders to keep politics out of hospital wards, mortuaries and emergency centres,” Nyaga said, warning against disruptions at health facilities in Githunguri, Thika, Gatundu and other parts of the county.

He added that healthcare workers needed to remain focused on treating patients and saving lives.

The county’s account has added another dimension to the controversy, shifting attention to the circumstances of Kelvin’s death, the handling of the body and the disagreement between the family and hospital management.

However, the account does not independently establish what caused the damage alleged by the family.

Pressure for action

The dispute has also drawn political attention, with Thika Town MP Alice Ng’ang’a urging the county government to take immediate steps to improve conditions in public hospitals.

Ng’ang’a said quality healthcare depended on qualified medical personnel, adequate supplies of medicine, reliable water, functioning equipment and properly maintained facilities.

She called on county officials to show greater compassion and deliver the essential services residents had been promised. The political exchanges have intensified scrutiny of the county’s health services, although the immediate questions surrounding Kelvin’s body remain unresolved.

For Kelvin’s family, the immediate demand is for answers about the condition of his body and the circumstances surrounding the alleged damage.

For residents, the questions extend beyond one family’s experience to the state of a public facility whose capacity and equipment challenges were documented years before the latest incident.

The hospital maintains that it has measures in place to protect and preserve bodies, while the family insists that its experience points to serious shortcomings at the old mortuary.

The allegations of rodent damage remain unverified, and the competing accounts have yet to be reconciled through an independent assessment.

What is documented, however, is that the hospital’s management warned in 2023 about broken freezers, increasing workload and pressure on mortuary capacity. The old facility continues to operate, while its replacement remains unopened.

The latest controversy may eventually be resolved through further inquiries into the family’s allegations and the circumstances surrounding Kelvin’s death. But the wider questions about the old mortuary, the readiness of the new facility and the dignified handling of deceased persons will require more than competing statements.

More than a decade after residents rejected a proposal to expand the mortuary, Gatundu is again confronting the question of how to provide adequate facilities for the dead without allowing cultural sensitivities or political disagreements to overshadow a basic public service. The answers will depend on transparency, accountability and action.