Kirundo : the morgue out of service, hasty burials for the deceased

SOS Médias Burundi

Kirundo, August 16, 2025 – The morgue at Kirundo Hospital, in Butanyerera Province (northern Burundi), remained out of service for almost a week, plunging families and medical staff into a difficult situation. The main cause : the lack of electricity needed to operate this large refrigeration facility.

Repeated power outages disrupted the hospital’s operations, requiring intensive use of generators, which were running day and night. This solution was difficult to maintain in a context marked by a persistent fuel shortage.

Direct consequences on body management

Faced with this prolonged outage, bodies deposited at the morgue were retrieved on Monday and Tuesday, either for immediate burial or for transfer to the hospital in Ngozi (same region). This situation has upset families, and some have been forced to shorten wakes.

A Kirundo resident confided : “We had to organize burials much faster than expected. It’s already a difficult time, and this situation makes things even more difficult for the families.”

Medical staff also testified to the pressure : “With the morgue out of service, we had to deal with complex body management while continuing to provide other care. It’s very stressful for everyone,” explained a hospital health worker.

A problem beyond Kirundo

The Kirundo case adds to a problem already known at Mukenke Hospital, in Busoni district, Butanyerera province, which does not have a morgue. Bodies are sent either to Muyinga Hospital or to Kirundo Hospital. However, when these facilities are full, bodies are sometimes stacked on top of each other while waiting for burial.

Popular appeal

The region’s population is urgently appealing for the construction of a morgue at Mukenke Hospital. According to a resident, “a morgue in every hospital in the region would help relieve overcrowding in existing facilities and prevent critical situations like the one we experienced in recent days in Kirundo.”

Medical staff and residents insist on the need to invest in this vital infrastructure to prevent such difficulties from recurring and to improve care for bereaved families.