Nairobi County contract laborers hired to clean up the Lang’ata cemetery on Wednesday protested over delayed salaries.
The workers staged protests at the cemetery’s entrance, claiming that despite dutifully performing their duties, they had not gotten their pay for a period of five months.
The protests took a turn after the aggrieved workers set ablaze tires near Lang’ata Police Station. It is then that cops lobbed teargas to disperse the crowd.
Lang’ata sub-county police commander Monica Kimani said that she advised the staff to address their grievances with the Nairobi County Governor Johnson Sakaja rather than stirring up trouble.
Lang'ata cemetery workers protest over delayed salaries pic.twitter.com/KHYYZBN9RO
— Yangu Ni Yangu (@YanguNiYangu) September 20, 2023
The staff have sworn to keep the cemetery gates closed until they get paid, advising those who want to bury their loved ones to go home or find another place to do it.
After the incident, Nairobi County Secretary Patrick Analo confirmed to the media that the casual workers had not received payment.
“We have about 77 labourers working in the cemetery who were retained 6 months ago to tend to the ground and improve the aesthetics. Let me apologize that they have not been paid to date,” Analo said.
“It is just a matter of time and they will be paid by next week. It’s unfortunate that they protested today and closed the cemetery, obstructing those who wanted to bury their loved ones.”
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