Peter Kigen Kenya man mistakenly declared dead regains conscious three hours later while morgue prepared to embalm him. Family members accuse medics of negligence.
A Kenya man declared dead by doctors ‘came back to life’ while workers prepared to embalm him in a morgue.
Peter Kigen, 32, was presumed dead on Tuesday after he collapsed at home and was rushed to Kapkatet hospital in Kericho County, reported local media.
After being transferred to the morgue, Kigen shocked staff as he suddenly woke up and wailed in pain as they made an incision on his right leg some three hours after ‘losing consciousness.’
Kigen, who reportedly suffered a stomach ailment, was taken to hospital by his family after fainting in his house on November 24.
His younger brother is quoted by the Standard newspaper as saying that a nurse had told him the patient had died before they arrived at the casualty department.
‘How did they establish that I was dead?’
The staff were said to have ‘casually checked’ on the patient before pronouncing him ‘dead’, Denis Langat, Kigen’s uncle, told local channel Citizen TV.
Kigen was immediately transferred to the hospital mortuary where he was prepared to be embalmed by morgue attendants.
As part of the process of preserving the body, one of the workers is said to have made an incision on the man’s right leg to infuse formalin.
It was then when Kigen suddenly regained consciousness and began wailing in pain, sending staff scampering for their safety as they thought the dead man had ‘resurrected’.
He was later brought back to the hospital’s casualty department and received first aid.
Offered a disbelieving Kigen, ‘I cannot believe what just happened. How did they establish that I was dead?’
Despite being declared dead when he was not and potentially embalmed while still alive, Kigen told journalists that he was ‘happy to be alive and vowed to dedicate his life to evangelism’.
Kigen continued to respond well to treatment as he now awaited his eventual release from hospital.
The man’s family is now demanding justice, accusing the local hospital of negligence.
Hospital officials and the county’s health department had yet to comment on the matter.
