Prisons: Kamiti, KDF not part of city cemetery plans

Nairobi county chief officer for Public Health Tom Nyakaba during world toilet day celebrations at Mukuru kwa Reuben in Nairobi county on November 19th 2024. (Collins Oduor, Standard)

The Kenya Prisons Service has dismissed claims that it has agreed to allocate land at Kamiti Maximum Prison for a new cemetery.

This follows remarks by Nairobi County's Chief Officer for Public Health, Tom Nyakaba, who told the County Assembly's Health Committee that the county had secured 100 acres of prison land to ease congestion at the overburdened Lang'ata Cemetery.

He also claimed that an additional 50 acres had been secured from Embakasi Garrison, which is under the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF), and that assessments were at an advanced stage. Nyakaba said Lang'ata cemetery has been full for over a decade, forcing the county to bury new bodies on top of old ones.

But Senior Assistant Commissioner General of Prisons Dan Obiero, who also serves as Director of Planning and Development, said no such arrangement exists. "We've received no official communication from any institution regarding lease, exchange, or transfer of land," Obiero said.

He noted that although Kamiti falls under Nairobi operationally, it lies within Kiambu County, complicating any transfer. "Government procedures, including involvement of the National Land Commission and guidelines from the National Treasury, must be followed," he added.

Obiero stressed that Kamiti is a security installation and such decisions require high-level approval. Similarly, a senior KDF official said no formal inquiry had been received and they would only respond to written communication.

Nyakaba maintained that President Ruto and Governor Johnson Sakaja had discussed the matter and agreed on land allocation. He said the county currently uses temporary graves and notifies families that their loved ones may be buried in shared plots, stacked at varying depths.

The issue has revived memories of the 2009 cemetery scandal in which City Hall paid Sh283 million for land valued at just Sh24 million. Several officials were jailed, but the site was never used.

A 2024 task force report recently warned that the overcrowded Lang'ata cemetery poses a serious public health risk. Principal Secretary for Public Health Mary Muthoni supported calls to de-gazette the cemetery.