Have you lost a loved one or you have been unable to track them down and suspect that they may have passed away without you being informed?

You have exactly three weeks to check with the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) mortuary, just to be sure before you chat your next course of action.

KNH has issued a 21-day-notice to Kenyans to go and identify bodies that have remained unclaimed at its mortuary or else they will dispose of them in a mass burial ceremony.

Some unclaimed bodies belong to those who passed away between January and October, including those from the newborn unit, according to a list by KNH CEO Evanson Kamuri.

Kimuri says the move to dispose of the 233 bodies that are unclaimed by their loved ones is meant to create room at the referral facility’s morgue for more bodies being received.

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The largest referral hospital in Kenya receives a huge number of emergency cases including victims of road accidents, hit-and-run, dropped at the hospital by police or good Samaritans.

Many of the emergency cases are received without any form of identification or knowledge of their next of kin or any way of contacting and informing their relatives or friends.

According to data released by the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA), a total of 3,358 people died in road crashes in Kenya from January 1 to September 13 this year alone.

This showed 236 more deaths compared to the same period in 2021, with pedestrians accounting for the highest number of accident victims at 1,208 then motorcyclists at 903.

The NTSA data also showed that drivers who died in accidents on Kenyan roads increased from 314 in 2021 to 324 in 2022, with speeding being blamed by police as the main cause.