Family stranded after kin’s body goes missing from a funeral home in Meru

Relatives of the late Mrs Grace Mbui at the Meru Funeral Home on October 7, 2015. They could not trace their kin's body which they established had been taken and buried by another family in a case of mistaken identity. They now have to move to court to apply for exhumation. PHOTO | IRENE MURITHI | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • The body of Mrs Grace Mbui has been lying at the Meru Funeral Home since Friday last week.
  • But when relatives went to pick the body Wednesday, they were informed that it could not be found.
  • They reported the incident to Meru Police Station where they were asked to make an application in court seeking to exhume their kin’s remains.

A family from Naari Village in Meru County was treated to a rude shock after the body of their kin they intended to bury Wednesday went missing from a funeral home.

The body of Mrs Grace Mbui has been lying at the Meru Funeral Home since Friday last week.

But when relatives went to pick the body Wednesday, they were informed that it could not be found.

Ms Harriet Gatwiri Gitonga, a granddaughter of the deceased said they were later informed that her body had been given to another family from Kithaku Village in what turned out to be a case of mistaken identity.

“The mortuary attendants told us that some other two families from Mpuri and Kithaku villages had picked bodies for burial.

"We called one of the families which confirmed they had buried the wrong body,” she said.

The family reported the incident to Meru Police Station where they were asked to make an application in court seeking to exhume their kin’s remains.

“We want the funeral home to cover for the expenses incurred today because it is their error,” said Ms Gitonga.