The Chief Pathologist in Kenya Johansen Oduor has cautioned Kenyan public morticians against keeping the mortuaries in a bad state, which is a nuisance to the public.
He said that most of the mortuaries in Kenya are left in a very untidy state, which produces awful smells, which may affect the residents and the staff working in the mortuary.
Oduor who was speaking when he toured the newly opened General Kago Morgue in Thika on Friday said that the mortuaries should be spacious so as to help the morticians’ keep them clean and tidy.
He urged the mortuary attendants to ensure they embalm the bodies within 24 hours of submission to avoid decomposition of the bodies that might be dangerous to our health and also become a public nuisance.
“Let us try and keep the area clean as the odors can affect the resident of this area. We also need these mortuaries to be spacious so as the morticians can have a simple task when cleaning the place,” said Oduor.
The morticians have further been warned by the pathologist against keeping the bodies that are badly wounded together with those that have no external injuries.
He called to the members of the public to respect the morticians as they are normal people who have families and might be psychologically affected incase of discrimination from the society.
“Morticians are people like us and we need not discriminate them in the society. They need peace of mind as the job they do is not a simple task,” the pathologist added.
He further hailed the Kiambu County government for offering free training to morticians at Chiromo mortuary in Nairobi, as this shows that anyone can join the training and get the necessary skills.