A Kenyan citizen named John Mweha has officially asked the government to move the remains of Kenya’s founding President, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, from the Parliament grounds in Nairobi to his rural ancestral home in Gatundu, Kiambu County.
In a letter dated July 29 and addressed to the Ministry of Gender, Culture, the Arts and Heritage, Mweha argued that the current resting place of the former president lies within a space meant for parliamentary affairs.
According to him, this setting may not align with African customs, where tradition emphasizes that the dead—especially elders—should rest among their kin in their ancestral land.
He urged the government to begin a respectful, inclusive, and culturally mindful process to relocate Kenyatta’s remains. He described his petition as sincere and non-political, with the goal of honoring Kenya’s cultural values and paying proper homage to the country’s founding father.
“This is a humble, non-partisan plea to the government to kickstart a respectful, widely consultative, and culturally grounded process of relocating Mzee Jomo Kenyatta’s remains from Parliament Grounds in Nairobi to his ancestral land in Gatundu, Kiambu,” Mweha wrote in his statement.
Mweha presented several reasons for his request. First, he mentioned that although there’s no written record, many Kenyans believe Jomo Kenyatta would have preferred to be buried in Gatundu.
He argued that African traditions deeply value burying elders in their home areas to allow for spiritual peace and generational continuity.
According to Mweha, moving Kenyatta’s body to his ancestral home would uphold African customs and help Kenyans feel more connected to their roots.
He also suggested that failing to observe such cultural traditions can be seen as a sign of disrespect, and in some communities, it’s believed that this can invite misfortune or unrest.
Beyond tradition, Mweha said that relocating Kenyatta’s body would also support the idea of devolution, by spreading national heritage sites beyond Nairobi.
Building a memorial in Gatundu, he said, would open up educational and economic opportunities for the local community, and offer Kenyans from all walks of life a chance to learn about Kenyatta’s legacy.
He concluded that the act of moving Kenyatta’s remains would demonstrate national respect for culture, bring dignity to the memory of the first president, and promote healing, unity, and dialogue across generations.
To guide the process, Mweha proposed that the Ministry set up a national forum involving all key stakeholders. This includes members of the Kenyatta family, the Parliamentary Service Commission, elders, cultural leaders, religious figures, the Ministry of Interior, and the National Museums of Kenya.
He also called for a public consultation strategy, an independent heritage review, and the creation of a national heritage and memorial site in Gatundu.
Kenya’s Constitution doesn’t state where a deceased president must be buried, though it does guarantee that the individual should receive a State funeral.
When Jomo Kenyatta passed away on August 22, 1978, he was buried on the Parliament grounds to honor his leadership and his central role in securing Kenya’s independence. The mausoleum built for him is highly guarded and currently not open to the general public.
There have been previous calls in Parliament to allow public access to the mausoleum, but they’ve yet to be acted on.
Despite widespread belief that the Kenyatta family preferred his burial in Gatundu, the decision was made at the time to lay him to rest near the center of political power—Parliament. Now, decades later, the debate has resurfaced over where the founding president truly belongs.
