By Antony Gitonga

NAIVASHA, KENYA: The management of Naivasha district has launched investigations as to how a suicide victim was diagnosed as dead and dumped in the mortuary before ‘resurrecting’ 20 hours later.                           

Shock, disbelief and anger met the incident as tears of pain were turned into tears of joy for the victim’s relatives.

During the incident operations in the facility were paralyzed as the 24 year old male was ushered back to the ward from the mortuary.

Earlier some mortuary attendants were forced to flee from the facility after the ‘dead’ man woke up and demanded to be let out.

Drama started on Tuesday afternoon when the man who hails from Kamae village in Limuru tried to commit suicide after falling out with the father.

The superintendent in charge of the hospital Dr Joseph Mburu confirmed the incident saying that investigations had started to establish how the patient was wrongfully diagnosed as dead.

He attributed the patients ‘dead’ condition to a drug that is induced in patients who have taken poisonous substance.

“The drug makes the heart beat slower and this might have confused the medical personnel but the victim was saved before he could be embalmed,” he sad.

Mburu said that the patient had previous records of attempted suicide adding that the was recuperating well and would be released in the next 24 hours.

According to the father James Karanja he had sent his son Paul Mutora to the nearby market to ferry some farm produce using a donkey cart when he damaged it.

Karanja said that an argument occurred and the son threatened to commit suicide and hours later he kept his promise by drinking an insecticide.

“He was rushed to Naivasha district hospital in critical condition and admitted as the family moved back to their home,” he said.

But on Wednesday his condition deteriorated and he was ‘confirmed’ dead at around 11pm and taken to the morgue.

More drama was to unfold when mortuary attendants on Thursday afternoon heard noises coming from the inside one of the side rooms and on checking found the man breathing.

“The mortuary attendant and a worker took to their heals screaming and the man was rescued and taken back to the ward where he is recuperating,” said a witness.

The patient who looked confused and groggy asked for forgiveness from his father noting that he had learnt a lesson.

“This was a mistake  and I apologise to my father as I prepare to go and take care of my wife and child,” he said.

The incident attracted tens of members of the public who wanted to have a look at the man who went to ‘hell and back’.