Authorities at Kiryandongo General Hospital have raised concerns over the increasing number of unclaimed decomposing bodies being dumped at the facility’s mortuary. Statistics at the hospital indicate that at least 10 unclaimed bodies are dumped at the mortuary by police every month, in addition to bodies of patients who die at the health facility.
The latest case involves a man whose body was dumped at the hospital last week after being picked up from Kigumba Town Council. Some of the bodies are delivered when they have already started decomposing, posing public health concerns. Dr. Godfrey Kisembo, the Medical Superintendent at Kiryandongo Hospital, says the bodies are always brought in by police, which has become a major challenge for the facility since it incurs extra costs in treating and burying unclaimed bodies.
“Police drop off bodies from accident scenes, murder sites, and other incidents, putting a burden on the health facility. At times, these bodies are brought when they have started decomposing, which causes a lot of commotion at the facility,” said Dr. Kisembo. He has appealed to the government to establish a public mortuary in Kiryandongo District to help decongest the hospital.
Dr. Kisembo also urged police and local leaders to embark on a serious sensitization drive aimed at educating the public on the importance of claiming the bodies of their relatives. The LC3 Chairperson for Kiryandongo Town Council, Godfrey Serunkuma, says the town council currently has no mortuary of its own, leaving the hospital as the only available option.
He noted that the council is financially incapable of establishing and operating a mortuary, appealing to the government and development partners to extend support toward setting up an independent facility. Julius Hakiza, the Albertine Region Police Spokesperson, explained that the role of the police is to collect bodies from scenes and deliver them to the hospital for postmortem examination to aid investigations, especially in criminal cases.
He added that unclaimed bodies are supposed to be buried at a public cemetery with assistance from the town council and hospital management.
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