Closure of City Mortuary strains Mulago's facility

By Taddeo Bwambale

The sight of the city mortuary near Mulago Hospital is one of a facility that lies in shambles.

Layers of the wall and surface of the building have been washed away and grass grows freely on the verandah. Much of the ceiling has also given way and the roof leaks.

Broken glass windows and a handful of equipment are all that is left inside the morgue that used to handle between 15 and 20 bodies.


                      Equipment lying idle just outside the mortuary. PHOTO/Taddeo Bwambale

Opposite the city mortuary is another mortuary run by Mulago Hospital.

By 8:00am on Monday morning, 18 bodies have been brought to this mortuary from various city suburbs by the Police. However, the mortuary can only handle 12 bodies, forcing workers to huddle them all into the cold chains.

Hospital authorities say the congestion at the mortuary has become unbearable after Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) closed the city mortuary for repairs.

“It has increased our workload and pressure on services, as well as the turn-around of serving our clients,” David Nuwamanya, the acting assistant commissioner for support services told the New Vision on Wednesday.

He explained that the mortuary at Mulago was designed to accommodate bodies of patients who pass on at the hospital.

      Ageing slabs on which dead bodies are washed and treated are now filled with dust. PHOTO/Taddeo Bwambale

The KCCA morgue on the other hand used to accommodate victims of accidents and other fatalities in city suburbs. The facility was closed in November last year to pave way for repairs. The renovation was meant to last six months.

Workers at the facility complained about the lack of protective gear and functional equipment such cold chain to keep the bodies.

The closure of the city mortuary by KCCA meant the services had to move to Mulago.

A worker at the Mulago Hospital mortuary who spoke to the New Vision said they are overwhelmed by the work since the city morgue closed.

“The closure of the KCCA facility has put a strain on us,” the worker, who declined to be named, complained.

Five of the KCCA workers at the city morgue were temporarily absorbed at the Mulago mortuary, but two of them have since been suspended, sources reveal.



   The quarters which house the staff of the city mortuary in need of an extreme make-over. PHOTO/Taddeo Bwambale

Last week, the Authority earmarked sh200m towards renovation of the mortuary.

KCCA spokesperson, Peter Kaujju told the New Vision that the renovation of the city mortuary was due to start but in phases.

“The first phase of fixing coolers is complete. We are waiting for funds to proceed to the next phase, hopefully in the first quarter of the financial year,” he said.

The city mortuary was built in late 1950s by the colonial government for limited postmortem services, but the facility has been run down over the years.