Nairobi MCAs oppose the immediate closure of Lang'ata cemetery without an alternative site

The Nairobi County Assembly Health Committee has opposed calls by the national government to close the Lang’ata Cemetery without giving alternative land.

The committee was responding to the recent remarks by Public Health Principal Secretary Mary Muthoni, who appeared before the National Assembly.

During the sitting, the PS noted that a committee that was formed to look into the health risk posed by the cemetery had recommended that the facility that sits on a 100-acre piece of land be degazetted.

“If we were to safeguard the public health and promote a healthier and safer society, and therefore, on this issue of the cemetery, we are behind the recommendations that were made by the committee that should be implemented,” said the PS

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  Nairobi Assembly Health Committee Rejects Immediate Closure of Langa'ta Cemetery

However, the Nairobi Assembly Committee disagreed with the PS, asking that there must be a correct procedure for the closure of the cemetery.

“We cannot wake up and say we are closing it, we must have an alternative place for the departed, because in a day, about 20 people are buried at the cemetery,” said Maurice Ochieng, the Committee chairperson.

Adding that, “If we just stop immediately and city residents will suffer, as a committee of health, we are deliberating on the way forward before it is closed.”

Woodley Kenyatta Golf Course MCA Davidson Ngibuini said this was a weighty matter that affects city residents and ought not to be taken lightly.

“The issue of shallow graves is weighty, as said by the national government; thus, an alternative should be found and a policy around it,” noted Ngibuini.

Another member, Lily Kidenda, noted that it will be unfair to close the cemetery without informing the Nairobi residents about an alternative.

“Because death does not wait for anyone, there will be people dying and they need to be buried, and it will be critical that the procedures are followed,” she said.

In its report, the National Assembly Committee recommended that the City County acquire new land, appeal for extension into the Ngong forest, or reclaim land where a private estate was built around the cemetery.

However, in her presentation to the national Assembly, PS Muthoni noted that Nairobi County should reclaim the land around the Langata cemetery, which was grabbed for the expansion of the cemetery.

“We advise the Nairobi county to be compelled by the National Assembly to obtain all the necessary documentation for the said land,” she noted

Adding that, “The Nairobi County government should ensure that all burials taking place in the cemetery comply with public health legal requirements governing such practices to avoid infectious diseases spread, social stigma and pollution of the environment,”

Some of the recommendations in regards to the cemetery were that a fence should be put up around the cemetery to keep off intruders, animals, and to curb encroachment.

The report by the task force also said that burying bodies on top of others and shallow graves poses a health risk, and wants the county government to stop the practice.