Police in the Lang'ata area deployed tear gas to disperse protesting Nairobi County contract workers hired to clean up the Lang'ata cemetery.

Workers protested at the cemetery's entrance on Wednesday, complaining that they had not received their salaries for five months while dutifully carrying out their tasks.

PHOTO | COURTESY cemetery workers protest

According to Monica Kimani, the Lang'ata sub-county police commander, officers intervened to disperse the demonstrators after they began burning tires outside the Lang'ata police station's entrance.

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Kimani stated that she informed the workers that instead of provoking unrest in the neighborhood, they should take their issues to the Nairobi County Governor's office in the capital.

The employees have promised to keep the cemetery's gates closed until paid, advising locals who want to bury their loved ones to return home or seek other options.

Nairobi County Secretary Patrick Analo stated to the press after the incident that the casual workers had not been paid. According to him, the county's fiscal cycle impeded the payments.

PHOTO | COURTESY cemetery workers protest

"We have about 77 labourers working in the cemetery who were hired about 6 months ago to take care of the ground and improve the aesthetics." "Please accept my apologies for not having paid them to date," Analo stated.

According to the county secretary, the process has been finished, and the funding request has been launched and approved.

"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."