A former security guard at Mbagathi Hospital mortuary has told a Nairobi court that three hospital employees allegedly took a Ksh 30,000 bribe to release a body without following official procedures.
Testifying in court, Bernard Malala, who previously served as a night guard at the mortuary, claimed that the deceased’s daughter was unable to settle the full mortuary bill of Ksh 61,000 and was advised to consult hospital social workers for assistance. However, instead of going through the formal waiver process, two mortuary attendants and a health records officer allegedly bypassed the proper channels and secured a burial permit under false pretenses.
According to Malala, the trio falsified hospital documents to facilitate the body’s release. In a suspected cover-up, he alleged that they tagged a different corpse as “James Mbugua”—the identity of the actual deceased.
A nurse who was on duty raised further concerns when she noted that the handwriting on the replacement body tag did not match her own, prompting suspicions of a deliberate switch.
Additional witnesses told the court that the original file related to the deceased was tampered with after being handled by an unidentified medical student. Malala said he had reviewed CCTV footage that might support his claims, but confirmed he had not yet presented the footage as evidence in court.
The case has since sparked outrage and renewed calls for tighter oversight of public mortuary operations. Investigations into the alleged fraud remain ongoing, with authorities expected to scrutinize hospital records, staff conduct, and the surveillance footage mentioned during testimony.
