The distressing situation at Lang’ata Cemetery demands immediate attention and action from the government.
Reports of wild animals mutilating human bodies buried in shallow graves, coupled with the theft of coffins, are not only disheartening but also deeply disrespectful to the departed and their grieving families.
This longstanding problem, exacerbated by the neglect of City Hall and the Ministry of Health, has reached a point where a new approach is imperative.
The 100-acre cemetery was declared full 20 years ago. But graves continue to be recycled multiple times.
Bodies are buried in shallow recycled graves on top of other bodies, as they await relocation into mass graves. But this takes too long and coffin thieves and wild animals exhume them earlier.
It is evident that Lang’ata Cemetery has long outlived its capacity. The proposal to close the cemetery and seek a suitable alternative is a sensible step forward. The national government, in collaboration with the county, must identify a new site.
This must be done with all transparency to avoid the 2009 situation where the then City Council of Nairobi paid Sh283 million for 48.5 acres in Mavoko, Machakos county. The land was valued at Sh24 million.
In light of these challenges, Kenyans could also consider alternative funeral practices. Cremation, while not universally embraced in our culture, offers a way to honour the departed without subjecting them to the indignities witnessed at Lang’ata Cemetery.
It also reduces the pressure on overcrowded burial sites.
Quote of the Day: “The end may justify the means as long as there is something that justifies the end.”
Leon Trotsky
The Ukrainian-Russian Marxist revolutionary and founder of the Red Army was assassinated on August 21, 1940.
