By Norine Lamwaka
Since June this year – Gulu regional referral hospital authorities say they are still keeping four dead bodies whose relatives have refused to pick them.
Also, at least 15 bodies have been buried by the hospital in the cemetery since the beginning of this closing year.
This, according to George Oroma – the hospital mortuary attendant, their relatives could not be traced.
The hospital authorities further say the corpses have caused congestion in the mortuary, with difficulties in now admitting new casualties.
Mr. Ajur Paul – the senior hospital administrator, in an interview with our reporter says they may be left with no option but to bury them in government cemetery.
He advised the Gulu Municipal Council to construct a new mortuary that can accommodate even unclaimed bodies [more casualties] as they wait for relatives to pick them for burial.
“The hospital’s policy is only to take [admit] the people who have just died, but not to keep the dead for long,” Ajur explains.
He added: “The numbers of dead bodies [unclaimed] has overwhelmed the hospital [mortuary’s] limited space which currently can keep only six bodies at a time.”
According to him, four dead bodies have been in the mortuary for months without being claimed.