Should Kenyans embrace cremation?

For generations, Kenya’s diverse cultural communities have revered rituals associated with burying the dead and the accompanying customs and practices were strictly adhered to.

But, as society changes, tradition is losing its hold on many and burials are becoming less of a cultural affair.

With the increased pressure on land, burying the dead in their ancestral homes is becoming impossible for a majority of Kenyans as few own land. Of those who own it, few can afford to set aside parts of it for burial.

Further, given the high cost of arranging a burial and friends and relatives’ tight daily schedules, a cheaper and more convenient way of laying the dead to rest is gaining wider acceptance: cremation.

Should Kenyans embrace cremation as a cheap way of disposing bodies of loved ones?