Turkana County — A public notice issued by Lodwar County Referral Hospital Chief Executive Officer and Director Nancy Kinyongo directing families to collect the bodies of their loved ones ahead of scheduled mortuary maintenance has cast fresh attention on the limited mortuary infrastructure serving Kenya’s largest county.
The notice, dated July 20, 2026, informs the public that the hospital’s mortuary will undergo essential maintenance on its refrigeration and storage systems beginning August 5, 2026. “The mortuary will remain operational during the maintenance period; however, storage capacity may be temporarily reduced,” Kinyongo said in the notice, prompting hospital management to ask families to collect bodies before the works commence.
The hospital further announced that Kakuma Sub-County Hospital and Lokichar Sub-County Hospital will provide alternative mortuary services during the maintenance period.
Beyond the maintenance notice, however, lies a much bigger story.
Turkana County spans approximately 77,000 square kilometres, making it Kenya’s largest county by land area. Yet across this vast region, there are only three functional county-owned public mortuaries at Lodwar County Referral Hospital (Turkana Central), Kakuma Sub-County Hospital (Turkana West) and Lokichar Sub-County Hospital (Turkana South).
A fourth public mortuary under construction at Lokitaung Sub-County Hospital in Turkana North is yet to be completed, leaving the northernmost part of the county without a fully operational county mortuary despite the enormous distances residents must travel.
For many families, death marks the beginning of another difficult journey.
Residents of Kibish, near Kenya’s borders with South Sudan and Ethiopia, travel approximately 300 kilometres to Kakuma or more than 400 kilometres to Lodwar to access mortuary services. Families from Lokitaung, where the unfinished mortuary stands, often rely on Lodwar—about 170 kilometres away—or other distant facilities.
Communities in Kaaleng, Kaeris, Katilia, Nakwamoru, Lokori, Lorugum and Lokiriama also face journeys ranging from 100 to more than 250 kilometres, depending on the nearest available mortuary.
These distances become even more challenging during the rainy season, when flooded seasonal rivers render roads impassable, delaying both the transportation of bodies and funeral arrangements.
The hospital’s notice also reminds families that “normal billing and payment procedures remain in effect,” requiring mortuary fees to be settled before bodies are released.
For many households, especially pastoralist families grappling with recurring drought, poverty and limited transport options, the costs extend well beyond hospital charges. Hiring a vehicle capable of travelling across rough terrain, transporting a body over hundreds of kilometres and organizing a burial can place immense financial pressure on already grieving families.
Hospital management says the scheduled maintenance is intended to safeguard and restore the mortuary’s refrigeration and storage systems while ensuring uninterrupted services.
Yet the notice has inadvertently highlighted a wider challenge facing Turkana’s healthcare system.
Despite covering nearly 13 percent of Kenya’s total landmass, the county continues to rely on just three operational county-owned mortuaries, while a fourth facility in Lokitaung remains incomplete.
Health experts argue that expanding mortuary infrastructure is not merely about increasing storage capacity. It is about ensuring that every family, regardless of where they live, can access dignified end-of-life services without travelling hundreds of kilometres.
As Lodwar County Referral Hospital prepares for routine maintenance, the notice serves as more than an administrative announcement. It has exposed the immense geographical gap in mortuary services across Turkana, a county where, for many families, the final journey home is measured not only in grief but also in distance.
