Inspector General of Police, Japheth Koome (IG Koome) was condemned by Morticians and the Allied Professionals Association of Kenya(MAPAKe) over his allegation that politicians were hiring out dead bodies.
Koome recently alleged that the opposition team was hiring out dead bodies from mortuaries and displaying them as victims of police brutality during the anti-government protests.
Morticians sent a statement on Wednesday faulting the IG on his claims and terming them as ‘unfair’ to their level of professionalism. According to them, they are committed to the moral ethics and the rule of law, which urges them to respect the dead. They clarified that they are regulated by the law under the Kenya Health Professions Oversight Authority (KHPOA).
“We condemn the statement made by the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Japheth because we believe that no mortuary technician in the Kenya of today can even attempt to do such a thing,” said MAPAKe.
In addition to that, the statement mentioned that their office is well respected and they would not allow it to be lowered to such actions.
“We work very closely with the police service in our day-to-day operations and believe that this position we are taking is very well known to the Inspector General.” The statement read.
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MAPAKe demanded that the IG validate his claims and hold the people involved accountable by facing the law. Without any proof, then he should withdraw his statement which according to them, taints their image and profession.
Furthermore, the statement mentioned that the mortuary practitioners serve all Kenyans regardless of tribe, race, class, political alignment or religion. They therefore termed it as ‘unfair’ for the Inspector General to tag their profession along with matters they are allegedly not concerned with.
“Mortuary technicians are no longer the rogue, careless, dirty, drunk, reckless and uneducated individuals. Mortuary technicians are registered, licensed and regulated by a Government Authority established by an Act of Parliament,” they mentioned.
IG Koome’s statement
On Tuesday, IG Koome mentioned that he had received intel that political leaders conspired with morgue attendants. The attendants would take photos and videos of dead bodies and send them to the politicians who would then post them on social media.
“The information I have is they go to some of the mortuaries, compromise the workers there, people even who died of some illness, people who died maybe out of an accident or other causes, they take photographs of such bodies and blame on the police,” said Koome.
After the release of the statement, the opposition as well as other politicians urged the Inspector General to retract his statement. The opposition faction later issued a response to the claims stating that the dead bodies posted were indeed a result of police brutality and not feigned images.
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