Nairobi seeks private investor to expand City Mortuary capacity to 1,000 bodies

• According to the National Treasury’s latest public-private partnerships report, the facility will have the capacity to accommodate 1,000 bodies, more than five times City Mortuary’s current official capacity of 184.

File image of the Nairobi Funeral Home, formerly City Mortuary. PHOTO | COURTESY

Nairobi County is seeking a private investor to finance, develop and operate a modern funeral home at City Mortuary, in a proposed partnership that would increase the facility’s capacity from 184 to 1,000 bodies.

The project comes amid persistent overcrowding at the public mortuary, where hundreds of unclaimed bodies have strained limited facilities.

According to the National Treasury’s latest public-private partnerships report, the facility will have the capacity to accommodate 1,000 bodies, more than five times City Mortuary’s current official capacity of 184.

It will also include a forensic laboratory capable of conducting 2,500 postmortem examinations annually, modern waste-management facilities and additional capacity to handle mass casualties during disasters.

The planned investment comes amid longstanding overcrowding at the facility. In October 2024, City Mortuary was holding 607 bodies, more than three times its official capacity, forcing the county government to temporarily suspend the admission of unidentified bodies brought in by police.

The pressure has persisted. In August 2026, the county announced plans to dispose of more than 470 unclaimed bodies across its public mortuaries to ease congestion.

Under the proposed public-private partnership (PPP), the investor would recover the investment through fees charged for mortuary and funeral services.

Currently, families pay Ksh.500 per day to preserve a body at City Mortuary for the first 10 days, with the charge rising to Ksh.700 per day thereafter. Additional services, including embalming and body preparation, attract separate charges.

The project remains at the concept-note stage, meaning its estimated cost, implementation timelines and the duration of the proposed partnership have yet to be established.

The planned redevelopment adds to a growing list of public services being considered for private-sector financing as the government seeks to expand infrastructure and improve service delivery without relying entirely on public funds.