By: Rodney Pienaar
The Ministry of Health has revealed to this publication that there are currently 126 unclaimed bodies at the state mortuaries in Windhoek, of which 97 are babies.
There are also 30 unclaimed bodies at the Oshakati mortuary of which 18 are babies, bringing the total of unclaimed bodies belonging to babies at 115 alongside 41 adults.
The ministry also said that there are no reports of unclaimed bodies at the Walvis Bay and Swakopmund mortuaries.
Although the ministry has not said how long these bodies have been in the mortuary, the police repeatedly makes pleas with the public to claim their loved ones or visit mortuaries to make sure that missing relatives are not among the unclaimed bodies.
Speaking to The Villager, chief mortuary assistant, Leonard Dausab said that the institution is not allowed to cremate the unclaimed bodies yet, as it might bring challenges in the future in case relatives show up.
“We are not cremating the bodies. We just keep them until they are eventually claimed. Right now there is a body that is decomposed but we cannot cremate it without the family’s consent,” he said.
