Are you or any of your relatives attending a burial at Ol Kalou public Cemetery? Well, you may be required to carry an umbrella for shelter and suspend answers to calls of nature.
The burial ground, located two kilometers from the periphery of Ol Kalou town, has no shelter nor toilet to serve the mourners.
Residents of the growing County headquarter have called on the county government to construct with urgency a shed to shelter them from the rains that continue to pound in the area.
“We have seen people taking cover from the elements using flowers intended for the gravesite because Ol Kalou town which is the nearest place they can shelter is two kilometers away,” said Daniel Gitau.
The scorching sun has not spared the mourners either as the cemetery has no trees to provide a shed, leaving them at the mercy of the weather.
The graveyard located on the western outskirts of Ol Kalou town lacks a shed and mourners leave burial ceremonies in a hurry whenever it rains or they opt to tough it out and get drenched.
“There is also no toilet in the cemetery and those attending burials here are at times forced to seek the amenities from the neighbouring Catholic Church, which is closed during the week. Open defecation is the order of the day here with shrubs offering the much needed cover,” regretted Gitau.
The well-wisher, who bought a few roofing iron sheets and led residents of the town to put up a small shed and a temporary toilet at the ground, regretted that the residents had to endure heavy rains while at the site to bury their loved ones.
The cemetery not only lacked a shed and toilet but also faces serious encroachment, with locals saying three acres had already been hived off leaving only two.
A recent move by the Nyandarua County government to relocate it to a bigger ground outside the town, was thwarted after some residents raised complaints that the new ground belonged to them.
