By Khalifa Hemed
Published August 5, 2019

Member of Parliament for Kibra Constituency Kenneth Odhiambo Okoth chose cremation over ground burialThough the saying ‘From the Cradle to the Grave’ may aptly describe Kenya that views ground burial as the preferred way of disposing of dead humans, flame cremation is increasingly getting attention in the country’s administrative and commercial capital, Nairobi. This trend appears to be presenting a dilemma to Kenya, a young and multi-cultural country whose constitution states that culture is the foundation of its nationhood.

Death, like birth and marriage, is not just a matter that affects an entire community in a country that recognises ground burial, entombment and cremation as the main forms of giving last respects to the dead, but is also an emotive issue.

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So why would Kenya, a predominantly spiritual (Protestant Christians: 47.7%; Roman Catholic Christians: 23.5%; Other Christians: 11.9%; Muslims: 11.2%; No Religion: 2.4%; African Traditional Religions: 1.7%; Baha’i Faith: 1%; Buddhism: 0.3%; others: 2%) country whose religion-shaped worldview preaches bodily resurrection and the living dead, embracing the burning of the human body that is euphemistically called cremation? Is mainstream Christian and Islamic religion, customs and traditions losing grip on this largely black African country? Or does Hinduism have a greater appeal on black Kenyans, many of who bear western and ‘Christian’-sounding names like Jeremiah, Moses, John, Joshua, Kenneth, Jane, Peter and Mary?

Former chairperson of Maendeleo ya Wanawake Organisation Jane Kiano was cremated.Those who are choosing cremation over burial include prominent businessmen, corporate executives, politicians, civil servants, clerics, sportspeople, writers, academics, and activists and therefore their choice can hardly be described as being determined by economics.

Yes, at between Sh9000 and Sh25000 for an adult, Sh4000 for infants and Sh6,000 for children depending on where cremation is done, the burning of the body is less expensive than ground burial that could force up to Sh5 million out of the pocket of the bereaved (Isn’t that what the family of legendary footballer Joe Kadenge said it wanted to give the deceased a dignified send off?).

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While Kenya Law Reform Commission (KLRC) is working on a a legislation to govern burials–not cremation–in Kenya to equip the courts of law with clear guidelines in ruling on disputes over a deceased person’s final resting place, the local Nairobi City County Government reduced the fee of cremation at its Kariokor Crematorium from Sh13000 to Sh9000 in 2015 while raising that ground burial at its Langata Cemetery from Sh25000 to Sh30000 for an adult and from Sh15,000 to Sh22,000 per child in an attempt to promote cremation and reduce demand for burial. Not many ‘ordinary’ Kenyans have abandoned burial for cremation since 2015 when these changes were announced, though.

Former head of public service and businessman Jeremiah Gitau Kiereini chose to be cremated rather than buried.Some of the well known prominent individually who have so far been privately, not publicly, cremated include Anglican Church of Kenya Archbishop Manasses Kuria and his wife Mary Nyambura Kuria, conservationist and Nobel Prize winner Wangari Maathai, former cabinet minister and businessman Peter Habenga Okondo, writer and winner of Caine Prize for African Writing Kenneth Binyavanga Wainaina, former head of public service and businessman Jeremiah Gitau Kiereini, Chief Executive Officer of Safaricom PLC Robert William Collymore, Member of Parliament for Kibra Constituency Kenneth Odhiambo Okoth, former chairperson of Maendeleo ya Wanawake Organisation Jane Kiano, and politician and businessman Kenneth Njindo Matiba.

Also cremated have been John Macharia, son of Royal Media Services founder SK Macharia; golf player and champion Peter Njiru and sports administrator Joshua Okuthe and his wife.

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KLRC, in its Concept Paper on Need for Disposal of Dead Body Legislation in Kenya, identifies burial, entombment cremation as the three forms of disposing of corpses in Kenya.

The family of legendary footballer Joe Kadenge said giving the former sportsman a dignified send off through ground burial would cost Sh5 Million.Describing burial as the act of interring a person in the ground and entombment as the act of placing human remains in a structurally enclosed space or burial chamber that differs from burial in that the body is not consigned directly to the earth but is kept within a specially designed sealed chamber, the KLRC paper defines cremation as the process of reducing dead bodies to basic chemical compounds in the form of gases and bone fragments.

That some prominent people have had their remains cremated and the incidents reported widely on television, radio and in newspapers, magazine, blogs and social media does not mean people in this conservative yet modernising country have embraced it.

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Many black Kenyans are yet to come to terms with the disposal of the dead by cremation.

How so?

Binyavanga Wainaina, Kenyan winner, Caine Prize for African Writing and founder and editor of Kwani? journal, was crematedJudging from posts and comments in social media like Facebook and Twitter.

While journalist Mwenda wa Micheni says “We need Gichuka and Kiswahili words for cremation. Kuchomwa au kuteketezwa (Kiswahili) and kubibwa (Gichuka) sound a misrepresentation”, media consultant Fred Gori says “The Bible is silent on mode of interment. What we come across are cultural practices rather than specific instructions.”

The two posts are currently generating a lively debate on Facebook.

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