City Mortuary set to unveil private wing

City Mortuary in Nairobi. FILE PHOTO | NMG

County-owned City Mortuary plans to set up a private wing by June in an effort to compete for the funeral homes business currently dominated by private morgues.

City Hall said the county would set up the private wing within the facility, equipped with modern coolers and accommodate up to 24 bodies.

The wing will also provide hearse and other related lowering gear services as it moves to restore its long-lost dignity and tap into the upmarket.

The management is yet to disclose the charges for the private funeral services.

The public wing charges Sh500 every 24 hours.

Tom Nyakaba, chief officer of public health, says the county is committed to giving proper and dignified services to Nairobi residents who have lost their loved ones as well as 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 Mr Nyakaba.

The facility will also build a chapel with a chaplain to offer funeral services for mourners unable to secure a church facility before burying their kin.

The setting up of the private wing will see hundreds of jobless people get roles in different capacities including customer service, officers deployed to the county funeral home to assist with admissions and receiving clients as well as security officers.

The City Mortuary has not only recorded a decline in the number of bodies it receives, but the facility has also lost out to private service providers such as Lee Funeral Home, Montezuma Monalisa Funeral Homes, Umash Funeral, which offer premium services to meet the changing demands of the sector.

The public morgue serves a population of more than five million people and receives five bodies a day.

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