The Ministry of Local Government has attributed the absence of cremation facilities to the lack of investor appetite for such ventures.

This is due to the fact that there is no demand for such facilities among Rwandans, thus raising their risk profile.

"There were talks with potential investors, and they expressed fears that those facilities were not a viable investment option,” Jean Marie Vianney Gatabazi, Minister of Local Government, told lawmakers on Tuesday.

He was responding to the questions about cemeteries and other burial facilities.

Members of Parliament had summoned the minister to seek clarification over why, after eight years since the law determining the organisation and use of cemeteries was enacted, cremation and burial of ash facilities remain scarce.

Article 31 of the law provides that the District Council may identify one or several sites for incineration of dead bodies only.

Such a decision may specify whether the cremation of dead bodies shall be carried out only at such sites for the entire district or for its part.

The law stipulates in article 28 that cremation is one of the accepted inhumation ways in Rwanda.

For a body to be cremated, it is required an authorisation issued by the Executive Secretary of the Sector or, in his/her absence, by his/her deputy. The authorisation shall be requested by the person responsible for the burial of the deceased, and indicate modalities, time and place to conduct the cremation.

The request for authorisation shall be accompanied by a certificate issued by a recognised medical doctor indicating the cause of the death.

However, article 29 of the same law provides that in the case of suspicion that the deceased was the victim of a crime, authorisation to cremate the body shall not be granted unless an autopsy is carried out.

Gatabazi said Rwandans have not yet been set up because people have not yet adopted cremation as a way of burial.

"Ordinary people assume that the incineration of bodies is done by burning firewood or charcoal…yet it is done through a technology that requires a large investment,” he said.

Saving land and cost?

MP Eugene Mussolini said that body cremation was cheaper and in line with efficient use of land.

The demand for land is rising in order to pave way for infrastructure projects such classrooms, roads, and hospitals and human settlement, he said.

Therefore, he added, there’s need for an urgent shift in the way people are buried.

"Considering Kigali, if Rusororo cemetery is full, which might happen soon, the Government will be required to spend about Rwf1 billion to buy another plot of land [for cemetery]. Yet, an incinerator can cost around Rwf100 million,” he said.

MP Elisabeth Mukamana said that the increasing population and land use required other means for burying such as through cremation.

Mukamana suggested that a study should be carried out to gather information from Rwandans on how they perceive cremation and to comprehensively identify the challenges and how to address them based on evidence.

Gatabazi said that based on the available information, burial costs could go up to Rwf3 million and Rwf4 million in some cases, pointing to the costly land and funeral service vehicle needed for the burial.

He said that there is a need to change the mindset of Rwandans on cremation, pointing out that a person could have the body of their loved one cremated and keep their ash [in a container] at home and give them tribute there.

Meanwhile, the Minister said that there are 1,439 cemeteries countrywide.

Plans are underway to increase the number of cemeteries in all the 30 districts of the country and to scale up sensitisation so that people embrace burial in cemeteries.

Some people still prefer to bury their loved ones in their homes partly because cemeteries are located far from them.