Grave danger: Nairobi's Lang'ata cemetery now a health time bomb

What began as a gruesome mystery in January 2024 has unearthed not just a body but the dark, rotting underbelly of Nairobi’s most infamous cemetery.

The half-naked, stabbed corpse of a woman dumped in a thicket within Lang’ata Cemetery ignited not only public horror but also fresh scrutiny into a burial ground that, for years, has teetered between the sacred and the scandalous.

Initial speculation suggested the remains might have been exhumed from an existing grave, adding to the morbid intrigue. But investigations confirmed the body was that of Nancy Nyaboke, who had been reported missing days earlier.

It remained unclear whether she was killed on-site or her body was dumped there. While the murder case was eventually closed, the questions it raised about the state of the cemetery have not gone silent.

Lang’ata Cemetery — a sprawling 100-acre expanse declared full over a decade ago — has long been at the centre of debate, mismanagement, and environmental concern.

Calls to close it and identify new burial grounds have grown louder, but a recent government report suggests the consequences of inaction are no longer just about space — they are now about public health.

Back in 2009, Nairobi’s City Hall lost millions in a botched land deal when the City Council paid Sh283 million for a 48.5-acre plot in Mavoko, Machakos County. The land, earmarked as an alternative to Lang’ata Cemetery, had been valued at just Sh24 million.

Following the scandal, several officials were jailed for abuse of office, each receiving a three-year sentence and a Sh1 million fine. Yet more than a decade later, Lang’ata remains open — despite the decay and dysfunction buried beneath its surface.

Today, shallow graves overlap; coffins are stacked in shared plots. A task force formed in 2024 to investigate the health risks has sounded the alarm with grim findings.

The seven-member task force, made up of health professionals, presented its report to Parliament’s Health Committee recently.

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Public Health Principal Secretary Mary Muthoni supported the committee’s recommendation that the cemetery be de-gazetted, citing its serious threat to public health.

Shallow burials

“If we are to safeguard public health and promote a healthier, safer society, then the committee’s recommendations must be implemented without delay,” the PS stated.

However, the report also notes a troubling gap — the taskforce stated that the cemetery was declared full a decade ago, there was no documentary evidence to support that. In the absence of alternatives, the county has since resorted to double burials and temporary sections of the site — practices that raise both ethical and environmental concerns.

The cemetery is neither secure nor properly fenced. Wild animals forage within, including scavengers and burrowing warthogs capable of unearthing shallow graves. The task force reported seeing unmarked graves, with team members unknowingly stepping on fresh but undocumented burial sites — an experience they described as “psychologically unacceptable”.

“Shallow burials of human remains present significant environmental hazards, including soil and underground water contamination,” the report warned.

It further highlighted the dangers of leachate (or ‘necro-slurry’) — toxic liquid from decomposing bodies that may contain pollutants like sulphates, arsenic, lead, and disease-causing bacteria such as E. coli, Klebsiella, and Clostridium perfringens.

Despite these findings, the cemetery has for years served as a grazing ground for cows and other animals — an indignity the task force insists must end.

Among its recommendations, the task force urged the Cabinet Secretary for Health to issue an official notice through the Kenya Gazette declaring Lang’ata Cemetery — and any other cemetery deemed full — as closed to new burials.

“Accordingly, and whosoever, after the said specified time, buries anybody or the remains of anybody in the said cemeteries or burial ground be guilty of an offence and liable for the prescribed penalties,” the taskforce wrote.

To resolve the crisis, the team advised Nairobi County to urgently acquire new land — possibly from the adjacent Kenya Forest Service or the neighbouring Ngong Forest — to serve as the next designated cemetery. They also called on Parliament to compel the county to obtain proper documentation for all cemetery and public utility land held in trust for the public.

“The City County of Nairobi be compelled by the parliament to obtain all the necessary ownership document for the said land (s) among other public utilities/cemeteries they hold on trust to the general public,” the report said

In a shocking revelation, the report stated that five acres of Lang’ata Cemetery had been grabbed by a private developer, who has since erected residential units on the land. The task force urged the county to reclaim the land.

Cremation alternative

Additionally, they proposed that Nairobi prioritise the reclamation of the old cemetery site along Mbagathi Road, which was closed over 57 years ago, and explore its re-use for burials, subject to environmental clearance.

The report did not shy away from the uncomfortable cultural shift required. It advised that the county sensitise communities to the realities of double and triple burials in existing graves and push for acceptance of alternative methods, such as cremation.

“Nairobi city county, which okayed the grave opening, double or triple burial in one grave practice, to carry out legal justification of the practice and sensitisation of the communities prior to the rollout and its importance in the face of the current realities to lessen the stigma,” the members observed.

It added: “The government also to embark on a campaign to sensitise and encourage people on the need to adopt alternatives to burial, ban grave reservation as well as permanent graves because Urban land is scarce and getting more expensive,”

Indeed, in 2014, City Hall had advised Nairobi residents to consider cremation due to congestion at Lang’ata and the high cost of burial plots.

“Cremation is hygienic, cheap, and environmentally friendly,” argued then City Medical Officer Dr Robert Ayisi. “The cost of transporting bodies upcountry is unbearable. This is worth trying.”

Yet cultural resistance remains strong. Bishop Richard Nato, for instance, described cremation as “strange, unbiblical, and contrary to the meaning of last respect.

“This is not a bad idea but I don’t think it will apply for now considering how we are culturally brought up,” he added.

While some see merit in the shift, many Kenyans are not ready to discard deeply held traditions surrounding the dead.