Health ministry helps cremate 76 bodies
The health ministry yesterday extended a helping hand to the police by agreeing to cremate 76 of the unclaimed bodies that have been in the police morgue for many years.
The Ministry of Health and Social Services last week said it was not responsible for unclaimed bodies stacking up at the police morgue, thus the decision to assist was welcome news to the police.
Police Inspector-General Sebastian Ndeitunga yesterday said the move would ease the pressure on police forensic staff and allow some breathing space while long-term arrangements are made to source funding for interring unclaimed bodies.
He said the police were ready to help the ministry to ensure the process could begin as soon as possible. Ndeitunga explained that paperwork needed to be completed via the Ministry of Home Affairs and “once those issues are cleared, the whole process can take off.”
Deputy Commissioner Jooste Mbandeka, head of the Namibian Police’s forensic pathology division, said the health ministry’s decision came as a relief to his department.
Although the morgue will still be saddled with more than 100 unclaimed bodies, Mbandeka said the police were “thankful that the ministry is assisting us”.
He said the number was based on a previous request sent out earlier this year, when the bodies fitting the unclaimed category were standing at 76. Since then, the number has increased.
He said another request for help would be sent to the health ministry, pending a decision by the Ministry of Finance to grant funds to the police for the purpose of cremating unclaimed bodies.
Mbandeka said the body count at the morgue had dropped from 184 at the end of last week to 178 yesterday.
He said none of the older bodies had been claimed despite a campaign urging people to claim the bodies of dead relatives and friends for burial.
The morgue was designed to hold fewer than 30 bodies at a time.
Unclaimed bodies had piled up in the past seven years, since the Windhoek municipality handed over responsibility for pauper’s burials to the government.
Questions sent to the Ministry of Health and Social Services yesterday remained unanswered by the time of going to print.
JANA-MARI SMITH
The Ministry of Health and Social Services last week said it was not responsible for unclaimed bodies stacking up at the police morgue, thus the decision to assist was welcome news to the police.
Police Inspector-General Sebastian Ndeitunga yesterday said the move would ease the pressure on police forensic staff and allow some breathing space while long-term arrangements are made to source funding for interring unclaimed bodies.
He said the police were ready to help the ministry to ensure the process could begin as soon as possible. Ndeitunga explained that paperwork needed to be completed via the Ministry of Home Affairs and “once those issues are cleared, the whole process can take off.”
Deputy Commissioner Jooste Mbandeka, head of the Namibian Police’s forensic pathology division, said the health ministry’s decision came as a relief to his department.
Although the morgue will still be saddled with more than 100 unclaimed bodies, Mbandeka said the police were “thankful that the ministry is assisting us”.
He said the number was based on a previous request sent out earlier this year, when the bodies fitting the unclaimed category were standing at 76. Since then, the number has increased.
He said another request for help would be sent to the health ministry, pending a decision by the Ministry of Finance to grant funds to the police for the purpose of cremating unclaimed bodies.
Mbandeka said the body count at the morgue had dropped from 184 at the end of last week to 178 yesterday.
He said none of the older bodies had been claimed despite a campaign urging people to claim the bodies of dead relatives and friends for burial.
The morgue was designed to hold fewer than 30 bodies at a time.
Unclaimed bodies had piled up in the past seven years, since the Windhoek municipality handed over responsibility for pauper’s burials to the government.
Questions sent to the Ministry of Health and Social Services yesterday remained unanswered by the time of going to print.
JANA-MARI SMITH
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