Harare — Chitungwiza Central Hospital mortuary is full to the brim with authorities attributing the situation to an increase in the number of unclaimed bodies.

The mortuary is designed for 30 bodies but currently has 40. "Our mortuary is full to the brim. People are not collecting bodies. We are currently working on an advert calling people to come forward and claim their relatives' bodies," said Chitungwiza Central Hospital chief executive officer, Dr Obadiah Moyo.

Briefing the Minister of Health and Child Welfare, Dr David Parirenyatwa, during a tour of the hospital this week, Dr Moyo said only seven people had so far claimed their relatives' bodies. "We are not going to rush to bury these bodies because the last time we did so we had problems. We have devised a system for the unknowns whereby we fingerprint them. We are trying hard to empty our mortuary," he added.

The fingerprinting process, which involves the police, assists in identifying the deceased persons leading to the identification of their relatives. Bodies have been piling up in a number of hospital mortuaries especially in Harare, Bulawayo, Marondera and other cities in the past with relatives not showing up to collect their bodies.

The United Bulawayo and Mpilo Central hospital mortuaries last year recorded an increase in the number of uncollected bodies.

The number of unclaimed bodies at Mpilo Central Hospital awaiting State burial once rose to 50 while at the UBH mortuary authorities had to pile bodies on the floor in February last year.