•For a permanent grave at the cemetery, charges are Sh30,500 for adult Kenyans in Nairobi, Sh15,500 for infants and Sh22,500 for children between 1 and 15 years.
•Revealing why burials continue to take place at Langata, the Chief Officer revealed that the cemetery still has a capacity of about 2,000 graves.
Image: File
Nairobi’s Langata Cemetery has been full for the past 24 years, but bodies continue to arrive at the facility every day for burial.
Chief Officer for Public Health Tom Nyakaba tells the Star that despite Nairobi having eight other cemeteries, Langata is still a favourite to many.
“It is important to note that Nairobi has a total of nine public cemeteries. But most people prefer to bury their loved ones at Langata,” he said.
The nine cemeteries in Nairobi are Langata, Forest Road, Pangani, Mutuini, Uthiru, Southlands, Kariokor Christian, Ruai, and Land next to NPS.
Location is one aspect that people prefer when burying their loved ones and Langata offers that, Nyakaba said.
“If you look at where Langata is located, many people can easily access the place at once without much help. Its strategic location also gives easier transport options, whether private or public,” Nyakaba noted.
The Chief Officer mentioned that the other eight cemeteries were mostly communal.
“Some of the cemeteries are community-based but we have put them on board and are now under the management of the county since it's part of our functions,” Nyakaba stated.
Revealing why burials continue to take place at Langata, the Chief Officer revealed that the cemetery still has a capacity of about 2,000 graves.
On why the government hasn’t relocated or found another land for a public cemetery, Nyakaba argued that most of the proposed land was outside the Nairobi boundary.
“Relocation can only be done if the two counties come to an agreement. But at the moment, the community cemeteries are part of the cemeteries so that we can decrease Langata grave capacity by 20,000 or more,” he added.
Nyakaba also stated that there are two types of graves at the cemetery, permanent and temporary.
He explained that as per guided laws, temporary graves can be used by more than one but permanent are for one body, noting that they are charged differently.
“Because of land limitations, we use the public health laws to ensure we can use one grave for more than one body. It is allowed and is not illegal. We only do it because of space issues,” Nyakaba said.
For a permanent grave at the cemetery, charges are Sh30,500 for adult Kenyans in Nairobi, Sh15,500 for infants and Sh22,500 for children between 1 and 15 years.
For non-citizens to have permanent graves at Lang'ata, the families will be required to pay Sh50,000 for adults, Sh35,000 for children and Sh27,500 for infants.
With families who prefer to have temporary graves for their loved ones, City Hall has maintained its charges at Sh7,000 for adults, Sh4,000 for children and Sh2,000 for infants.
In 2021, the defunct Nairobi Metropolitan Services and the Kenya Forest Service were negotiating on acquiring new cemetery land next to Langata.
Authorities are considering shifting the public graveyard to Kangundo.
Lang'ata's 100 acres have been full for 20 years and for years, City Hall has been seeking an alternative burial site.
Despite negotiations, former NMS director general Mohammed Badi disclosed the county has 10 acres on Kangundo Road that could be an alternative.
In 2009, City Hall lost millions of shillings after the then City Council of Nairobi paid Sh283 million for 48.5 acres in Mavoko, Machakos county.
The land was valued at Sh24 million. Former Local Government PS Sammy Kirui and former City Council of Nairobi Clerk John Gakuo were among officials jailed for three years for their role in the cemetery land scandal. Kirui was later acquitted, while Gakuo died while waiting to be freed on bond.
In the 2016-17 budget, the county had expressed an interest in acquiring cemetery land in Kajiado, but that turned out to be a costly venture.
In March 2017, the county had planned to petition Parliament to allow it use as a graveyard in the 67-acre forest near the filled-up Lang'ata Cemetery.
This was after the Kenya Forest Service rejected its request to swap the filled-up cemetery with the forest.
KFS had said the government allocated the old Nairobi City Council 50 acres in the 1990s to expand the cemetery. It had asked City Hall to account for the land.
However, City Hall carried out investigations and there are no records to show that the national government gave City Hall 50 acres.