City Mortuary to Set Up a Private Wing for Rich Kenyans

City Mortuary to Set Up a Private Wing for Rich Kenyans

The Nairobi County government has announced plans to set up a private wing within City Mortuary in an effort to compete with privately-owned funeral homes.

The new facility targeting ‘rich Kenyans’ will be equipped with modern coolers and accommodate up to 24 bodies. It will also provide hearse and other related lowering gear services.

The public wing, which has a capacity of up to 200 bodies, charges Sh500 every 24 hours. It is not clear how much Nairobians will pay for private funeral services.

Nairobi county chief officer in charge of public health Tom Nyakaba said they are committed to providing dignified services to bereaved families and treating the dead decently as a mark of last respect.

“City mortuary is the largest government-owned mortuary facility in East and Central Africa and currently has six functional coolers with a capacity to store 200 bodies. In the next 45 days, we intend to unveil a private wing that will be able to hold 24 bodies,” said Nyakaba.

In addition, the facility will set up a chaplain to offer funeral services for mourners who are unable to secure a church facility before burying their kin.

The new facility will provide competition to Lee Funeral Home, Montezuma Monalisa Funeral Homes, Umash Funeral among other private service providers which offer premium services.

The public morgue serves a population of more than five million people in Nairobi and receives at least five bodies daily.

Comments

Maxiley (not verified)     Thu, 04/06/2023 @ 10:05pm

The dead are alredy gone.Call it what you may. It comes down to monetizing funerals.Whether its good or bad you make the call.
My point is that the dead does not care if you burn him or her. Respect for the dead ,and agood send off should not be measured by how ostentacious, expensive and pageantry the funeral is.
In my opinion,less expensive the better so that more would go to the living.When someone pledges to pay school fees for the kids of the departed to me,that is respect beyond writing a check for $1000,or buying acoffin for $ 10K...Sincere,honest and well spoken, heartfelt words that go beyond eulogizing at a funeral are priceless.But the deceased should have earned them.To call someone good when they were, amenace,and caused terror is disingenuous,and pretentious...
Honestly,we as asociety,and especially people from western Kenya- We need to consciously rethink about how we should be sending off our departed family members. We spend too much on funerals that are soon forgotten.Shouldn't our forcus be on something more tangible?
As for me I have declared that my "useless body" will do some good in the SCIENCE department.I guess a scientific send off-you could say.My two cents.

SimamaImara (not verified)     Fri, 04/07/2023 @ 11:21pm

In reply to by Maxiley (not verified)

I beg to differ, Aretha Franklin had change of clothes during her last day. Imagine looking cute on way out was a big deal and so is disco matanka and other shenanigans Africa spend and bury instead of helping the late before death or the kids and widow left behind. There's a huge gravitational pull towards fundraising for the departed more than anything else. Mapepo tu

Guest (not verified)     Fri, 04/07/2023 @ 01:35am

Speak for yourself and let people remember their loved ones in which ever method they see fit.Not all lavish funerals require “mchango”from hustlers some wealthy folk can afford and do preplan their funerals others it is peanuts to them so let them be not like those left behind put money to good use.If the money was theirs and not borrowed from you let the bereaved celebrate their folk “their way” not everything is about money.

Dr.C (not verified)     Fri, 04/07/2023 @ 03:55am

So well stated, Maxiley!! In fact, I advised my family to be cremated. Its unfortunate many spend more on funerals for the dead person why they never cared when this person was alive on the premise of ‘befitting sendoff’, total nonsense! If its raining funds to offset hospital bills or probably temporarily cushion kids left behind with college or school tuition, may be. But even fundraising to clear personal debts the bereaved incurred in their lives undertakings or for taking care of widows or widowers and other relatives is just taking advantage of others. Waiting for two weeks plus to bury someone with no other reason but just to raise funds to benefit from the death is just ridiculous!

Juju (not verified)     Fri, 04/07/2023 @ 06:01am

No matter how “rich” they thought they are, they are as dead as the “poor” guy in the next room and equally freezing their dead balls!!! Just the morgue milking cash out of the gullible grieving families!!!

Menye (not verified)     Fri, 04/07/2023 @ 08:44am

Depression(coursed by sibling rivalry and cheating wife) killed my cousin fifteen years ago.But I was shocked when his three brothers arrived at CM with new clothes including suit,shirt,tie,shoes,socks etc.I caused a drama in CM by strongly being opposed to those luxuries and almost all villagers supported me.I managed to grab those clothes in the confusion and returned them to Nyals where the owners refunded the shs 20000 after explaining how the guy died.I handed the money to his twin high school sons,the ONLY PROPERTY HE HAD DECLARED in his life.

Maxiley (not verified)     Fri, 04/07/2023 @ 10:58am

In reply to by Menye (not verified)

You are a wise man @ Menye. All I ask is for people to be considerate,and think more of the living.If you want to give someone something of "value" do it what they are still living so that they can appreciate,and thank you for it...When they are dead,it's all about the living.Not any more about the dead.Bitter fact of life;we shall all face the' Grim reaper' at one pont.Just amatter of time.Sure we are free to spend our money the way we see fit.I have no problem with that.But surely when somene raises questions like I have in my comments here,I believe that its worth considering.Just because ,'We have been doing it this way',does not mean that it it cannot be tweeked here and there for the betterment of those left behind...

okonkwo bilo konzo (not verified)     Fri, 04/07/2023 @ 09:22am

One area which Kenyan leaders are not transparent about is the "end product". A few days ago, some legislators from Uganda were arraigned in court for diverting Iron sheets meant for the poor into their Own and distributing them amongst relatives and fellow legislators. While i do not use Uganda as a good example of a free corrupt country, Kenyan leaders don't learn to do anything right.
What did i expect? I expected to read something like, "the City Government will build a private Wing Mortuary for the rich Kenyans and money raised will be used to uplift the Pumwani Hospital into a modern Hospital with high end facilities". Just an example!
So now comes the question, where will the money raised from this mortuary end up?

M kiratu (not verified)     Fri, 04/07/2023 @ 10:39pm

In reply to by Formerlyguest 2 (not verified)

They will.
Govt also considering building a separate capital city for the rich with its own CBD no portholes or beggars. Specially trained cleaners will be imported from China to keep the city spotlessly clean.
They promise no govt money will be spent. It's going to be a ppp with local partners limited to former and current MPS, high ranking govt officials etc. You get my drift.

JustMe (not verified)     Fri, 04/07/2023 @ 04:49pm

...not necessarily for the rich... for those who will value that level of service.... There are many not-rich individuals who'll choose to it over the current.

JustMe (not verified)     Fri, 04/07/2023 @ 04:56pm

...not necessarily for the rich... for those who will value that level of service.... There are many not-rich individuals who'll choose it over the current.

Kora Kanini (not verified)     Sat, 04/08/2023 @ 08:32am

This is capitalism at its best. Make money where you see it. There are 2 businesses that will have clients no matter what, Daycares and Morgues.
The thing here is very simple, we came in butt naked and we will leave butt naked.
All of us are entitled to a 3×6×6 lot, I have never seen anyone being buried with their wealth. Money is a tool for the fool.

Mūndūmūgo (not verified)     Sat, 04/08/2023 @ 10:24pm

In reply to by Kora Kanini (not verified)

Actually liquor stores are similarly situated. People drink to celebrate all occasions, they drink when they are happy, sad and just to relax, í.e they will find or make up a reason to drink.

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