Ten months ago, a Ugandan job seeker died in Al Ain. However, due to a lack of funds for her return, her body is still in the morgue. Nanono Sharifa, 32, died on December 23, 2021, according to a death certificate issued by the United Arab Emirates’ Ministry of Health and Prevention.
Al-Tawam Hospital morgue officials told the Khaleej Times on Monday that Sharifa’s body was still there. He said it was kept in the morgue. They are awaiting approval from the Ugandan embassy to repatriate the bodies if funds are available.
The Ugandan Embassy in Abu Dhabi confirmed that it had received a letter from the Uganda Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the request of the bereaved families requesting permission to move the bodies. The embassy said it would release the body of the deceased and issue the necessary paperwork for his return.
Sharifa leaves behind her three children, aged 6 to 15, and a sister who lives in Uganda. Your parents are gone.
Her relatives are keen to repatriate her remains so that the children can attend their mother’s funeral.
Ruth Nakitende, one of Sharifa’s sisters, told the Khaleej Times that the deceased came to the UAE on a visit visa to look for work for her in September 2021. However, in December, she received the sad news that she had passed away, leaving her family in shock.
“She let us know a month after arriving in Al Ain and said she was still looking for her job” and where she was staying.
The deceased left her children with her sister and came to the United Arab Emirates to find work for her to support her family, but she died before she could get one.
Nakitende says her family was small and poor and could not raise the necessary funds to move her sister’s body home.
Abdala Luyimbazi, a Ugandan social worker, said the total amount needed for the repatriation process was around Dh 15,000.
“This includes plane tickets, embalming of corpses, ambulance arrangements from Al His Ain to Muhaysnah, Dubai, and fees,” Ruinbaji said.
