A seven-day deadline has been issued for families and members of the public to identify and collect 473 unclaimed bodies lying at the Nairobi Funeral Home, formerly Nairobi City Mortuary, before the county seeks authority to dispose of them.
The Nairobi City County Health, Nutrition and Wellness department said the bodies have remained at the facility from their respective dates of admission as efforts to have them identified and collected continue.
In a public notice dated March 18, 2026, the county called on relatives, friends and other interested members of the public to go through the list and establish whether they recognise any of the bodies.
“The following 473 unclaimed bodies are lying at the Nairobi Funeral Home (formerly Nairobi City Mortuary) from the date of admission awaiting collection. Pursuant to Public Health Act Cap 242 [Subsidiary; PUBLIC HEALTH (PUBLIC MORTUARIES) RULES, 1991) (2), interested members of the public are asked to identify and collect the below-named bodies within 7 days, failure to which the Nairobi City County will seek disposal authority,” the notice read.
The county said the bodies were admitted under different circumstances, with the list including deaths recorded as natural, sudden, accidents, suspected murder, drowning, mob injustice and unknown causes, among others.
Nairobi City County warned that anyone who may have lost a relative or knows of a missing person should check the list and act within the seven-day period.
The notice was issued under the Public Health Act, Cap 242, and the Public Health (Public Mortuaries) Rules, 1991, which provide the legal basis for dealing with unclaimed bodies in public mortuaries.
The notice comes after a similar appeal by Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH), which in March asked families and members of the public to claim 480 unclaimed bodies held at its Farewell Home.
In a notice published on March 24, KNH said the remains comprised 102 adults and 378 children, and gave families seven days to identify and collect them.
“Interested members of the public are therefore requested to identify and collect the bodies within seven days; failure to which the hospital seeking authority from the courts to dispose of them,” the notice stated.
KNH management urged relatives and guardians to act promptly and identify the bodies before the hospital moved to seek court approval for their disposal.
Under the law, hospitals can dispose of bodies that remain unclaimed for extended periods, usually between 21 days and three months, after issuing a public notice and obtaining a court order.
The notices from Nairobi County and KNH highlight the pressure faced by public mortuaries when bodies remain unclaimed for long periods, taking up limited space and placing an additional burden on the facilities.