Subukia family resorts to keeping drowned kin’s body at home, after failing to raise mortuary costs

A grieving family in Lari location, Marana sub-location, in Subukia sub-county is set to preserve the body of their kin at home for several days ahead of his burial on Thursday after failing to raise money for funeral and mortuary expenses.

Area Chief John Macharia confirms to Mtaa Wangu that the body of the young man Peter Gitau Njuguna, 25, who reportedly drowned in a nearby dam, was retrieved in the early hours of May 19 following an overnight search operation.

Macharia says the deceased, had gone missing on the afternoon of May 17 after informing his family members that he was going to wash clothes at a dam located about 50 meters from their home.

“He left home saying he was going to do laundry at the dam near their house at about 3 p.m. Later, a child went to the dam only to find his clothes and phone, but he was nowhere to be seen,” says Macharia, adding that the child decided to take the phone home and informed Njuguna’s parents of his absence.

According to the chief, when evening came, the family saw he’d taken too long and decided to go to the dam and still found he wasn’t there, and so they went back home, assumed he’d gone to a relative and they started making enquiries, launching a search after he failed to return home.

The following morning, on May 18, they decided to continue with the search, but their search amongst relatives was futile, and since they didn’t find him, they started screaming for help.

“That’s when people came by the dam, and since their search amongst relatives bore no fruit, they extended their search in the water. The matter was later reported to the police, prompting a joint search operation involving residents and local authorities,” he notes, adding that they started pumping water out of the dam from 8 p.m. and continued with the search until late in the evening.

Macharia says about six water pumps powered by generators were used during the operation due to the depth and volume of water in the dam, which they received help from their local leaders to fuel to the tune of about Sh30,000.

His body was eventually spotted in the water and retrieved at around 1 a.m.

The administrator further reveals that the family has been forced to preserve the body at home because they cannot afford the cost of transporting it to the mortuary.

“The family says they do not have money for the mortuary or funeral arrangements,” he explains, estimating that, in this instance, taking the body from the site to the nearest mortuary in either Nakuru or Nyandarua counties would alone cost nearly Sh8,000.

He adds that local administrators allowed the temporary arrangement after establishing that the family was facing severe financial hardship.

“They are struggling financially, and that is why they are keeping the body at home as they prepare for the burial on Thursday,” Macharia says.

The family is still trying to seek help from their local leaders, but for now, they’ve all agreed to preserve his body at home.