UAE: Jobseeker's body in morgue for 10 months; family lacks repatriation funds

Ten months ago, a Ugandan jobseeker died in Al Ain. However, her body is still lying in the morgue as there isn't enough money for repatriation.

According to the death certificate issued by the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention, Nanono Sharifah, 32, passed away on December 23, 2021.

Her family back home was informed about her death. Since then, they have tried all means to raise the money for repatriating her body and failed.

An official at the morgue told Khaleej Times on Monday that Sharifah’s body is still kept in the morgue. They are awaiting clearance from the Ugandan embassy so her body can be repatriated if there are funds to do so.

The Ugandan Embassy in Abu Dhabi has confirmed that it received a letter from the Ugandan Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the request of the deceased’s family asking for authorisation for the repatriation of the body. The embassy says it will issue the required documents to ensure that the deceased's body is released and flown back home.

Sharifah is survived by her three children who are between 6 and 15 years, and her sisters, who are in Uganda. Her parents are no more.

Her relatives are keen on having her body repatriated so the kids can have the chance of attending their mother’s burial.

Ruth Nakitende, one of Sharifah’s sisters told Khaleej Times that the deceased came to the UAE on a visit visa in September 2021 to look for a job. But the family was shocked when they received the sad news of her death in December.

“She communicated to us a month after she had arrived in Al Ain and said she was still looking for job,” said Nakitende adding that they later received a call from a Ugandan in Al Ain informing them that their relative had died of natural causes while at the place where she was staying.

The deceased had left her kids with her sister and came to the UAE to look for a job so she could take care of her family, but she died before getting one.

Nakitende says her family is small and poor and that they have failed to raise the money required to transport her sister’s body back home.

Abdala Luyimbazi, a Ugandan social worker, said the total amount needed for the repatriation process is about Dh15,000.

“This includes air tickets, embalming the body, hiring an ambulance from Al Ain to Muhaisnah in Dubai and handling fees,” said Luyimbazi.

ALSO READ:

• ‘We’ll save big on visa fees’: How UAE’s new sponsorship rules will benefit families

• UAE: New visa, law reforms to give more choices to job-seekers

• Abu Dhabi