There was mixed emotions of grief and joy for a family from Kubugu Location in Manyatta Constituency, Embu, when they finally managed to bury their kin whose body had been detained in mortuary for close to five months over KSh444,000 hospital bill.

David Mathenge, 72, died on June 20 this year after battling throat cancer for months. His body was detained at Kenyatta University Mortuary after the family failed to pay the hospital bill.

His family could not hide it’s joy amid the feeling of loss when the body finally arrived home for the final rites on Saturday after the intervention of well-wishers, including boda boda operators from Embu led by their patron Ken Java Mwaniki who helped to raise KSh450,000 to offset the bill.

His wife, Elizabeth Marigu, said though it has been an agonizing period since his demise, she was happy that they were finally able to lay him to rest and have closure.

“None of us cried during the viewing of his body because we mourned long enough and all we wanted was to accord him a dignified burial,” she said.

David Mathenge didn’t deserve such treatment

She eulogized his husband as a good person, saying he did not deserve such treatment, but acknowledged efforts by bodaboda riders to assist in burying him.

The bodaboda operators patron said there was need to have law in place to protect the families of the dead from emotional torture and humiliation occasioned by detainment of bodies of their kin over accrued hospital bills.

“Mr Mathenge and his family were subjected to humiliation and redicule and this should not be allowed to happen again to anyone else,” he said.

Outlaw detention of bodies

Area (Manyatta) MP Gitonga Mukunji who attended the burial promised to push a bill in Parliament to outlaw detention of patients and corpses in hospitals and mortuaries over unpaid bills.

He said, ” it is the highest level of disrespect to our culture and I will sponsor a bill barring detainment of bodies for more than a month.”

He said is was painful to loose a loved one but it was more painful to have them detained as it subjects their families to prolonged agony and lack of closure.