From stinking City Mortuary to revamped Nairobi Funeral Home

City Mortuary used to terrify people.

Even outside its walls, you were hit with an unbearable stench as far as Valley Road. Stories are told of people living nearby fleeing to other locations in the city.

But it wasn't just the bad smell. The mortuary didn't have basic things like enough water, making it a real nightmare for grieving families going to collect bodies of their loved ones.

The whole place was dirty, a stomach-churning picture of neglect and decay.

Today, a visit to Nairobi Funeral Home is a totally different experience. Tarmacked pavements, manicured lawns and freshly painted walls welcome you to the facility.

It is no longer the infamous City Mortuary. The unsightly and stinking times ended in 2020 when the defunct Nairobi Metropolitan Services cleaned up the facility, fixed the water problem, bought new equipment and renamed it.

Governor Johnson Sakaja's administration has further improved the place.

The revamped funeral home has a customer service desk where members of the public can make inquires.

"We are here to make people who are grieving their loved ones be as comfortable as possible and that's why we even have a counsellor to help those in grief," Chief  Officer for Public Health Tom Nyakaba told the Star.

Last April, Sakaja named Chief Government Pathologist Johansen Oduor chairperson of Nairobi Funeral Home.

He leads a team of five members including Vincent Onywera,  Edwin Oloo, John Nderitu, Eunice Mutiso and Alex Mwangi.

The board's tenure is three years effective April 24, 2023.

The morgue now has six new coolers, which makes storing of bodies easier.

"The coolers we used to have were prone to breakdown on a daily basis, which was a bit challenging considering the amount of work that is done," Nyakaba said. 

According to a city mortuary report dated April 5, 2023, Nairobi's main public morgue has 142 cooling units but only 33 are in use.

Sakaja noted that in order to keep work at the morgue flowing,  63 cooling units will be installed to bridge the gap.

The morgue has 19 cold room doors of which 9 are supposed to be replaced. City Hall has already replaced six.

The morgue has a capacity of 184 bodies.

"Unfortunately, since we are a public mortuary at the moment we have 385 bodies, but we are supposed to have only 184," Nyakaba said.

Some coolers can accommodate up to 40 bodies. "As much as we have excess bodies, we ensure that they are preserved in a dignified manner," Nyakaba added.

In case of unexpected power interruption, the Nairobi Funeral Home has two generators for backup.

The services offered include preservation of bodies, autopsy, issuance of burial permits, embalming of bodies and cemetery services.

Preservation charges for the first 10 days for adults and infants are Sh500. The charges increase to Sh700 per day past 10 days. Those are for bodies brought in from within Nairobi county.

Bodies brought to the facility from other counties are charged Sh700 per day.

Embalming costs Sh3,000 for adults and Sh2,500 for infants.

Washing and dressing charges for adults, children and infants are Sh2,800, Sh2,000 and Sh1,900.

Those brought from other countries are cahrged Sh3,000, Sh2,100 and Sh2,000.

Viewing charges are Sh500.

Under Governor Sakaja the morgue has disposed of 350 bodies.

" When we came in, unclaimed bodies were almost 400 but as we speak we have less than 50 at the morgue," Nyakaba said.

 City Hall is hiring  40 morticians who will be dispatched to the morgue, Mama Lucy and Mbagathi mortuaries.

Nairobi Funeral Home has 13 morticians but needs at least 30.

Head of the mortuary David Wanjohi acknowledged the changes at the facility.

“I came here in 1993 when I was still a young man as a mortuary attendant. In the 1990s working at the morgue was bad. Those who were in charge tried to change things but it was impossible,” Wanjohi said.

Over the years the situation got worse with roofs leaking,  the facility  lacked water and keeping the toilets clean was a problem.

“Free water flow was a problem here.  No renovation was done and the structures and equipment that existed when the mortuary was built in 1958 still remained in use,” Wanjohi said.

Following the renovations, the ablution block is now fully installed with a flushing system and running water .