City Hall rejects Health Ministry plan to close Lang’ata Cemetery
Lang'ata Cemetery in Nairobi.
The Nairobi County Assembly has rejected plans by the Ministry of Health to close Lang’ata Cemetery over public health risks.
The Assembly reckons that the cemetery's purview falls under the Nairobi County Government and not the Ministry. Additionally, it says an alternative burial site must be provided before the cemetery is closed.
“There must be a procedure...You cannot just wake up and say that we are closing the cemetery. The procedure is that we must have an alternative for these people,” Mountain View MCA Maurice Ochieng, who is also in the County Health Committee, said on Wednesday.
“We are deliberating on the way forward before it is closed.”
The MCA stated that in a single day, more than 20 bodies are buried at the cemetery thus closing the place would be problematic.
Dr Tom Nyakaba, who is the Nairobi County Chief Officer for Public Health, said that such orders should come from the county since they own and manage the facility.
“Lang’ata Cemetery is a county facility. The county will issue a statement soon,” Dr Nyakaba said.
Last week, Public Health Principal Secretary Mary Muthoni told a Parliamentary Committee that the cemetery needs urgent action because limited space is posing serious public health concerns.
“Nairobi County must ensure all operations at Lang’ata Cemetery follow public health standards to avoid disease outbreaks, pollution and community distress. We recommend immediate reclamation of the land beside the cemetery. The county should secure proper documentation and use it for cemetery expansion,” she said.
Prefer Lang'ata
Last year, the County Government initiated the search for an alternative burial site but the matter is still on paper. The county had also stated that the cemetery had space for about 2,000 more bodies.
In a previous interview with the Nation, Dr Nyakaba said there are eight other municipal cemeteries but that people generally prefer to bury their loved ones at Lang’ata.
The other sites include Nairobi South Cemetery along the Uhuru Highway (near Nyayo Stadium), Kariokor Christian Cemetery (close to the Muslim Cemetery), Pangani Cemetery and Forest Road Cemetery which is a civic cemetery.
In 2008, the defunct Nairobi City Council declared the famous cemetery full.