Suicide bid man says 15 hours in morgue taught him a life lesson

By ANTONY GITONGA                       

KENYA: The sound of thunderstorm reverberated across the town as flashes of light hit sections of the streets forcing fearful residents to seek refuge.

And as if on cue, the lights went out leaving the town dark and quiet as those on the streets retreated to their dwellings.

At Naivasha District Hospital, things were the same as patients in various wards pulled their bedding to wade off the biting cold.

In the male ward, the hissing, breathing, coughing and sometimes stifled cries momentarily came to a standstill as workers made efforts to put on the generator. A shrill scream either from a new-born or from a man taking his last breath hit the facility, making the hearts of patients and even staff race faster.

And by the time power was back around 11pm, one patient lay ‘dead’ in the male ward and mortuary attendants were called in to do what they do best.

Within minutes, the naked body of Paul Mutora Karanja lay inside the hospital mortuary covered in a thin and aging blanket.

Crushed

Next to Mutora were four other bodies, one of an elderly woman and that of a construction worker whose head had been crushed by a trailer.

The far end was packed with bodies brought earlier and the buzzing of the refrigerator was the only sound distracting the occupants.

The following day, workers assisted relatives to pick their kin for burial, as Mutora lay in the corner ‘unaware’ of his new surrounding and what was going on.

And 15 hours after he was presumed dead and taken to the morgue, the 24-year-old woke up only to find himself next to un-co-operating neighbours.

In a story only witnessed in horror movies, the man who had been wrongly presumed dead ‘resurrected’ sending workers fleeing.

According to a worker who declined to be named, one of the mortuary attendants heard funny noise coming from the room and decided to check.

“He thought it was a rat but on checking he did not find it and as he passed one of the bodies that was about to be embalmed, he noticed there was movement,” he said.

Shaken, he quietly tip-toed out and informed one of the women colleagues who courageously entered the morgue and drew the blanket covering Mutora.

Lying under the blanket was a stark-naked man, one hand covering his manhood and the other on his chest.

“Huku ni wapi kuna baridi hivi?” (Which place is this that is so cold?),” blurted out the patient, who had been declared dead hours earlier.

What followed was a comedy of error as mortuary attendants tried to out-do each other escaping from the facility and screaming at the top of their voices.

This attracted the attention of hospital staff and one courageous doctor moved to the mortuary only to confirm that the man was indeed alive.

This is a story of a father of one who literally went to hell and back in an incident that has left many in shock.

In one minute his family was shedding tears of sorrow and making burial arrangements and in the next they were shedding tears of joys as their son had ‘resurrected.’

And back home, relatives pulled down a tent they were using to welcome mourners.

Condition deteriorated

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

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

Karanja said an argument ensued and the son threatened to commit suicide and hours later he made good his threat and drunk an insecticide. “He was rushed to Naivasha District hospital in critical condition,” he said.

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

When he settled after waking up in the mortuary, Mutora who looked confused and groggy asked for forgiveness from his father, saying that he had learnt a lesson.

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

The incident attracted curious onlookers who wanted to catch a glimpse of the man who ‘died and resurrected’.

The superintendent in charge of the hospital, Dr Joseph Mburu, said investigations have been launched to establish how the patient was wrongfully pronounced dead.

He attributed the Mutora’s ‘dead’ condition to a drug that is given to 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 said.

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