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Bizarre twist as City Hall set to recover previously unknown cemetery land 


Nairobi County government was not aware that it had some space to bury the dead off Mbagathi Road until an advertisement was published recently.

An advertisement in the Nation stated that the owner wanted to change the use of the land from cemetery to residential, subject to the county’s approval.

Governor Evans Kidero, addressing journalists, said the change of use had not originated from the county government and warned that nobody would be allowed to grab public land.

Speaking to the Nation, the County Executive for Lands, Mr Christopher Khaemba, said the advertisement was timely as the county had been looking for more burial space.

“The advertisement was a godsend, as we were looking for somewhere to bury the dead,” he said.

He said the land was allocated to private developers by the defunct city council between 1995 and 1997 and that none of the developers had a title deed as they were only given allotment letters.

“A cemetery cannot be converted to another use. We are short of land to bury the dead. We agreed with the governor that this must remain cemetery land although I was told it had been allocated to a private developer,” said Mr Khaemba.