Families with missing relatives have just 21 days to identify 47 unclaimed bodies lying at the mortuary of Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital (JOOTRH) in Kisumu County, failing which the facility will proceed with their disposal in line with public health regulations.
The hospital, in a public notice, said the bodies have remained unclaimed for more than three months, prompting the move to dispose of them if no next of kin comes forward between March 30 and April 24, 2026.
Records at JOOTRH show that the 47 bodies present a grim cross-section of deaths recorded within the county and its environs, cutting across age, gender and circumstances.
According to the notice, 32 of the bodies are male adults, two children—one aged two years—while 13 are foetuses.
The list also includes one female adult and a skull described as unidentified human remains.
Hospital records show that some of the deceased died within JOOTRH, with cases reported at the casualty department, the newborn unit, Ward 3A and Ward 7, but were never claimed by relatives.
Others were recovered from various parts of the county, including Kisumu Stadium, Otonglo Village, Daraja Mbili, the World Vision area and the Kisumu bus terminus.
Additional recoveries were made in residential and informal settlement areas such as Nyalenda, Obunga, Manyatta and Lolwe, as well as in locations like Arina and Carwash.
In several cases, the bodies were picked from more remote or distressing sites, including Nyawita dumpsite, Kibos River, irrigation areas in Kibos and parts of Usoma and Kanyakwar, pointing to the diverse and, at times, tragic circumstances surrounding the deaths.
The hospital said the causes of death vary widely, including sudden deaths, drowning incidents, mob injustice and road accidents—particularly hit-and-run cases.
In some instances, the cause of death remains unknown or was not recorded.
Some of the cases were reported through police stations such as Kisumu Central, Kondele, Obunga, Kasagam, Migosi, Maseno and Kogony, as well as the Directorate of Criminal Investigations in Bondo.
However, several bodies have no accompanying police records, complicating efforts to trace relatives.
JOOTRH management has now urged members of the public with missing loved ones to visit the hospital mortuary for identification within the stipulated period, between 9 am and 5 pm.
Failure to claim the bodies within the deadline will see the hospital proceed with disposal as required by law, effectively bringing closure to cases that have remained unresolved for months.
The situation underscores the persistent challenge faced by public health facilities in handling unclaimed bodies, often linked to factors such as poverty, migration, stigma, crime and gaps in identification systems.
For affected families, the hospital said, the notice offers a final opportunity to trace missing relatives and accord them a dignified send-off before the bodies are disposed of.
