The body of a 32-year-old female jobseeker from Uganda has been kept in a morgue in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for 10 months due to the lack of funds needed to repatriate her to her home country.

The family of the woman, identified as Nanono Sharifah, has reportedly tried all means to raise funds, but failed, Khaleej Times reported.

The death certificate issued by the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention showed that Sharifah died on Dec. 23, 2021. Since then, the morgue of Al Tawam Hospital has been awaiting clearance from the Ugandan embassy for the body to be released.

The Ugandan Ministry of Foreign Affairs wrote a letter to the Ugandan Embassy in Abu Dhabi at the request of Sharifah's family to authorize the repatriation of the body. However, no action has been taken regarding the repatriation despite the embassy's promise to issue all the required documents.

The relatives of Sharifah want her body to be flown back home so that her three children, aged between six and 15, may attend her burial.

Ruth Nakitende, Sharifah's sister, told Khaleej Times that her sister flew to the UAE in September 2021 with the intent of searching for a job. She said the last time their family talked to Sharifah, she told them she was still looking for a job in Al Ain.

"She communicated to us a month after she had arrived in Al Ain and said she was still looking for a job," she told the outlet.

Nakitende said they were shocked when they later received a call from a Ugandan in Al Ain, telling them that Sharifah had died. Sharifah reportedly died of natural causes; however, no further details regarding her death were revealed.

Nakitende said Sharifah's children are now staying with her. She added their family is poverty-stricken and could not afford her sister's repatriation. She also said they had tried in vain to raise funds for Sharifah's release and transport back to Uganda.

The amount needed to repatriate a body from the UAE to Uganda is about Dh15,000. Ugandan social worker Abdala Luyimbazi said the amount includes "air tickets, embalming the body, hiring an ambulance from Al Ain to Muhaisnah in Dubai, and handling fees."

As of September 2022, Uganda has 100,000 legal migrant workers employed in the UAE.

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The woman reportedly died of natural causes; however, no further details of her death were revealed. This is a representational image. Getty Images/ John Moore