By KT Reporter
Mityana Municipal Council has appealed for the government’s direct support to enable it to respond to the growing challenge of unclaimed bodies effectively. The municipal leadership is currently grappling with an alarming trend, indicating that they are left with between 20 and 25 unclaimed bodies every month, and needs to respond to the growing challenge of unclaimed bodies effectively.
Eric Kinobe, the Municipality Deputy Town Clerk, observes that they formally appealed to the central government to allocate a special budget for the management of the unclaimed bodies that are usually buried in a public cemetery. Kinobe indicates that the burden of unclaimed bodies is a recurring concern to the municipal council, which is finding it very hard to manage them as per recommended standards due to budgetary constraints.
He explains that the unclaimed are unattended patients admitted at Mityana General Hospital, accident victims, and mob violence victims from within and neighbouring districts such as Mubende and Kassanda. He argues that the municipality cannot handle such high numbers of unclaimed bodies, observing that, besides the burial expenses, their four-acre public cemetery is also congested.
As a result, Kinobe reveals that they have formally written to the Ministry of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development to allocate them a special financial allocation, while considering the priorities for the next financial year 2026/27.
He observes that their assessments have highlighted that the burden is not about to reduce given the prevailing circumstances in the area. According to him, the Mityana and neighbouring Mubende and Kassanda districts host hundreds of aliens hired as artisanal labourers in the various gold mines. He explains that in case of their death, the bodies of such individuals remain unclaimed because they usually do not have any known relatives.
Christine Kazibwe, the Mityana District Council Speaker, admits the problem is too big for the urban local government, which she says largely relies on central government transfers that are conditioned. She indicates that it is on a very rare occasion that relatives show up to transfer the remains, suggesting that government supports the municipality to handle the situation effectively. The appeal has come at a time when the Ministry of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development is conducting regional local governments’ budget consultative meetings, where it is collecting suggestions that will be considered in the next financial year.
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