Nakuru North Cemetery is one of the oldest burial grounds in the country.

Families that get space at the cemetery pay Sh100,000 for a plot.

And even though the cemetery was declared full 10 years ago, burials still go on, raising concerns among Nakuru residents, who wonder where the space is coming from.

Those who cannot afford the Sh100,000 bury their loved ones at the Nakuru South Cemetery for between Sh5,000 and Sh10,000.

Shockingly, Mtaa Wangu has learnt that while at the north cemetery, graves are dug six feet deep, at the south one, the dead are buried in shallow graves of about four feet deep.

A grave digger at the Nakuru South Cemetery, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the information, revealed that this is done because usually, new graves are dug on top of old ones.

He admitted that since 2019, he and his colleagues have come across remains of bodies that were buried before.

"Whenever such a scenario happens, we cover the remains and make sure they cannot be seen. We then bury the person on top of the covered grave," he narrated.

Mr David Kuria from Nakuru Human Rights Network is quick to point out that if the cemeteries are full, then the ongoing burials indicate recycling of graves, hence causing disturbance to the dead.

“The county should just secure space for another cemetery,” he adds.

However, when Mtaa Wangu contacted the county administration over the matter, County Health Executive Jacqueline Osoro maintained that burials at the north cemetery are of individuals who had booked the spaces in the past, before it was declared full.

Nakuru County Public Health Officer George Gachomba, denied claims that graves at the south cemetery are dug four feet deep.

In a phone interview, Mr Gachomba maintains that there is no recycling of graves, adding that the new graves are being dug between the old ones.

"We realised that the walk ways and the spaces between the graves were big and that is why we decided to have them as burial spaces," he said.

pmambili@gmail.com

Puzzle of Nakuru’s full cemeteries where the rich have space, but the poor are buried on top of one another

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Pristone Mambili