Nairobi residents seeking to cremate their loved ones will be forced to spend more money after the Nairobi County government increased cremation charges at the public cemetery in the new Finance Act of 2023.
In the past, cremating an adult at Lang'ata cemetery would cost Sh16,800, Children (Sh15,800) and Infants Sh 12,800•
Also, the county used to charge Sh1,500 per hour for the family to hold a service at the chapel in Lang'ata before cremating the body.
However, the fees have been increased after Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja assented to the Nairobi Finance Bill, 2023 last Friday.
In the new levies, cremating an adult will cost Sh20,000, Children (Sh16,000) and Infants (Sh 14,000).
To utilize the chapel, city hall will charge you Sh2,000.
Cremation has been an alternative method for people who want to cut down on burial expenses.
It is part of the Hindu religion but with time people from different cultures have adopted the method.
This means of disposing of dead bodies was considered taboo by traditional beliefs.
The exposure of Kenyans to different cultures, coupled with environmental conservation initiatives and scarcity of land, are some of the reasons people no longer balk at cremation.
Back in 2019, City Hall said Nairobi residents with no rural homes may be forced to cremate their loved ones since Lang'ata Cemetery was full and the county was yet to acquire land for a new one.
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 has been full for 20 years and for years, City Hall has been seeking an alternative burial site.
Despite negotiations still being underway, 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 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.