The new complex of South Sudan's main referral hospital /Lou Nelson/Eye Radio

The mortuary at Juba Teaching Hospital is reportedly stuck with sixty unclaimed dead bodies, which are too expensive to be given a decent burial.

Dr. Anthony Lupai, the Medical Director at the Juba Teaching Hospital said most of the corpses are taken to the hospital mortuary by the police, and good Samaritans.

They were brought there for identification, but their relatives have not come to the hospital to claim the deceased loved ones up to now.

“There are about sixty unclaimed bodies because the relatives have not come to claim for the bodies and they are now in the mortuary, and this is a challenge to the hospital,” Dr. Lupai told Eye Radio in Juba on Friday.

“Every dead body that is kept in the mortuary is supposed to be cleared, which means they supposed to be given a decent burial,” he added.

Dr. Lupai said the bodies have taken much of the space in the poorly refrigerated mortuary.

The corpses, most of which have not been buried are reported to be decomposing and polluting the hospital environment.

Lupai pointed out that it may not be a decent burial should hospitals take responsibility.

“If the hospital is the one responsible for doing that, it is not going to be a decent burial anymore, we may need a mass grave which also is forbidden. These people are not supposed to be buried in a mass grave,

According to the health official, before the recent hike in prices, it used to cost 70, 000 pounds to bury three corpses.

However, the current rate, he said has made it even tougher for them to bury the sixty bodies.

“The hospital is having difficulties getting rid of those bodies because it is expensive, and we cannot afford to bury these bodies.”

Dr. Anthony Lupai is now calling on well-wishers and concerned authorities to help in the hospital burial of those unclaimed bodies.

“We need some help, and then the most important thing is help from the authorities, especially from our IGP and the police to help clear the mortuary from unclaimed bodies,” Dr. Lupai said.

“The bin should not be put in the hospital on the issue of clearing these bodies, we run to whoever can help us.”

The mortuary of Juba Teaching Hospital is the largest in South Sudan.

It was renovated with the support of the International Committee of the Red Cross to help forensics authorities systematically handle the dead with dignity.

The overhaul ultimately aims at making sure families know the fate of their loved ones and that they receive, in a dignified way, their remains before burial.