Trans Nzoia governor Patrick Khaemba has banned selling of coffins and operation funeral parlors near public hospitals.
Speaking during a press conference at the county headquarters, Governor Khaemba has noted that there is mushrooming of funeral shops selling coffins and other funeral assortments saying that it was an eyesore to the general public.
“Those shops that have mushroomed near hospitals, especially the county referral, have become an eyesore and it haunts patients seeking treatment at the facilities.”
This led to the county boss banning parking of hearses near public hospitals plus giving an ultimatum to funeral parlor owners to relocate them further from the hospitals or they be brought down.
“I know that not all who seek treatment at the hospitals will make it but it is disgusting for the business owners to put their business in our hospital gates as a reminder to the sick that they either get out of the hospital well or in their coffins.”
Khaemba has further banned the explicit advertisement of the funeral homes and the services they offer saying it was haunting the general public asking the owners to immediately stop their operations.
“You visit the county hospital and you are greeted with hundreds of coffins lining the streets plus a dozen funeral homes with several different types of vehicles to transport dead bodies which are very disgusting. They should find a place we look for them when we need them; they do not need to advertise everywhere.”
He further noted that his administration gave out notices for the said funeral homes to relocate but have since not been done.
“I hear that when they were served with the notices they bragged that they had chosen a nice spot to get statistics of all the patients going to hospitals and the more they went the better their business was while patients complained that the first thing they see when they arrive at our hospitals is preparations for their internment.”
Khaemba has also lamented that some of his officers were involved in the funeral homes saga as most of them were built in residential areas.
“I am giving out these orders to those people who never sought change of use and approval of those buildings to close and relocate them. Failure of which we will bring down they can demonstrate but the notice has expired. There are members of the public who feel very offended and are ready to help us bring them down.”
For now county staff who will be found issuing permits to such businesses will be fired with two enforcement officers being suspended over the funeral homes saga.
