Families of the 16 girls who died at the Utumishi Girls Senior School fire tragedy will finally collect the remains of their children for burial after the requiem mass slated for Friday.
The announcement comes days after the grieving parents left the Naivasha Sub-County Hospital mortuary disappointed after they were unable to leave the morgue with the bodies of the deceased despite the completion of the DNA identification process.
The parents protested against the initial June 17 date they had been given by the State to pick up the bodies as proposed by the funeral organising committee.
Gilgil Deputy Commissioner(DCC) Stanley Mutai said that after consultation following complaints from parents seeking an earlier date, the date for the requiem mass has been moved to June 12.
Mr Mutai said that the memorial service will kick off as early as 9am at Gilgil Stadium, and thereafter the bodies will be released according to the parent’s desires.
He said that the arrangement put in place will accommodate parents who will want to pick the remains after the service and those who will opt for the next day.
“After consultation the requiem mass will be on Friday, we hope to be done by noon in order to allow for families to travel with the remains of their loved ones in good time ,” said Mr Mutai.
One of the grieving parents told the Nation that each parent will receive Sh200,000 to facilitate the burial arrangements on or before the requiem mass date.
According to the parent, the families will also be provided with a hearse to transport the bodies to various destinations.
“We have also been told that each family will be provided with transport for a 14-seater matatu to ferry relatives to the venue of the requiem mass,” he said.
