By Antynet Ford
Nairobi City County government has announced plans to partner with the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) to secure an additional 56 acres of land for the expansion of Lang’ata Cemetery.
In a communique shared after a cabinet chaired by governor Johnson Sakaja, City Hall resolved to initiate a plan to redevelop Lang’ata Cemetery into a serene memorial ground.
“This project will involve comprehensive landscaping and extensive renovations including fencing, change of signage, grading, and graveling of roads inside the cemetery, transforming it into a tranquil place of remembrance and peace.” The Communique stated in part.
The county further indicated plans to identify and secure additional land for future burials to ensure that the needs of the community are met with respect and sustainability, maintaining dignity in the management of burial sites.
The upgrade and expansion of the cemetery comes 24 years after it was declared full.
By aligning with this broader vision for green spaces, City Hall aims to enhance the urban environment and provide residents with more recreational areas.
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.
The defunct Nairobi Metropolitan Services and the Kenya Forest Service were previously in negotiations on acquiring new cemetery land next to Lang’ata.
Despite negotiations, former NMS director general Mohammed Badi disclosed the county has 10 acres on Kangundo Road that could be an alternative.
In March 2017, the city county had planned to petition Parliament to allow its 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.
City Hall carried out investigations and there are no records to show that the national government gave City Hall 50 acres.
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