Nairobi County issues 7-days’ notice over 59 unclaimed bodies at Mama Lucy Mortuary
The county’s Department of Health, Wellness and Nutrition said the remains had been held at the facility from their respective dates of admission while awaiting identification and collection by relatives or other interested parties.
Nairobi City County has issued a seven-day notice calling on members of the public to identify and collect 59 unclaimed bodies lying at the Mama Lucy Kibaki Funeral Home.
The county’s Department of Health, Wellness and Nutrition said the remains had been held at the facility from their respective dates of admission while awaiting identification and collection by relatives or other interested parties.
The public notice lists bodies admitted between April 2025 and February 2026. Most of the remains are those of adult men, although the list also includes women and several unidentified bodies.
Some entries are identified by name, age, gender, admission number and the facility or location from which the body was transferred. Others are listed as “Unknown African Man” or similar descriptions.
The county has urged relatives, friends and other members of the public who may have missing family members or acquaintances to check the list and contact the funeral home for identification and collection.
The notice cites the Public Health Act, Cap 242, and the Public Health (Public Health Mortuaries) Rules, 1991, warning that the county will seek disposal authority if the bodies are not identified and collected within seven days.
“The following 59 (fifty nine) unclaimed bodies are lying at Mama Lucy Kibaki Funeral Home from the date of admission, awaiting collection,” the county said in the notice.
The latest notice comes amid growing concern over the number of unclaimed remains held in public mortuaries across Nairobi.
Earlier this month, Nairobi City County issued a similar seven-day notice concerning 473 unclaimed bodies at the Nairobi Funeral Home, formerly known as Nairobi City Mortuary.
The notice, dated March 18, 2026, listed the bodies and called on relatives and members of the public to identify and collect them within the stipulated period. The county warned that failure to do so would lead it to seek legal authority for their disposal.
The situation extends beyond county facilities.
In March, Kenyatta National Hospital issued a public notice over 480 unclaimed bodies at its Farewell Home.
The hospital said the remains comprised 102 adults and 378 children and similarly warned that it would seek court authority to dispose of the bodies if they remained unclaimed after seven days.
