Online Reporter
Vusumuzi Dube, Deputy Radar Editor
THE Bulawayo City Council has reaffirmed its decision to have all children who die below the age of one year compulsorily cremated as part of measures aimed at preserving limited burial space in the city.
The decision is contained in a council report presented by the Director of Health Services, Dr Edwin Sibanda-Mzingwane, on 8 January 2026. According to the report, the local authority previously deliberated on the appropriate age threshold for mandatory cremation before settling on the current position.
Council officials say the measure is intended to address growing pressure on burial space, as the city’s cemeteries near capacity.
The move comes amid broader efforts by the local authority to manage land use more efficiently, particularly in essential public services such as water, sanitation and cemeteries.
According to the latest report, despite this directive, the council-owned crematorium was non-functional and the public had to rely on a private crematorium, therefore, to encourage the public to adhere to the use of the private facility for the burial of the infants, the local authority has since resolved for a 100 percent reduction of medical referee’s fees.
A medical referee is a senior doctor appointed by a crematorium authority to scrutinise medical cremation certificates to ensure they meet legal standards. They verify that the cause of death is clear and, if in order, provide written authorisation for the cremation.
The local authority indicated that cost considerations, including the medical referee’s fee, were being reviewed to ease the financial burden on affected families and encourage compliance with the new directive.
“The Director of Health Services reported (8th January, 2026) that Council on 4th January, 2023 resolved that the 12 year age limit for cremation be not acceded to, instead the age limit for compulsory cremation be adjusted to 0-12 months. This was to encourage cremation of children below a year and save burial space.
“The Council crematorium was non-functional and all cremations were being conducted through private crematoria. As a way to promote cremation of the below one year olds, it was proposed that there be reduction of the medical referee’s fee for the group. The current referee’s fee was $30 for local and $60 for non-residents. The reduction would be revisited once Council had its own cremator,” reads the report.
The move is part of the local authority’s broader efforts to manage pressure on cemetery space, which has become increasingly scarce due to population growth and limited land availability.
Meanwhile, the local authority has revealed that they continue facing resistance with regards to the maintenance of stillborn graves.
“There were a lot of cultural beliefs that took place when there was a stillborn. Some of these beliefs affected grave maintenance. A realisation had been made to consider cremation of all the stillborn babies. Currently, cremation services were being provided by private players. A request was made to these private players, to reduce the cremation fees of stillborn babies. Council is also working on the acquisition of a new cremator,” reads the council report.
The local authority has in recent years implemented various measures to optimise burial space, including promoting cremation as an alternative to traditional burials.
The local authority had previously identified two new burial sites at Marvel and Pumula — but the two places faced
challenges that prevented any burials from taking place there.
Marvel Cemetery is awaiting infrastructure completion and has been difficult to access being located along Harare
Road while Pumula South underwent trials and was found to be very rocky, necessitating specialised tools for burial.
This situation has left the local authority operating with just two active cemeteries, Luveve and Umvutsha, following the closure of all other cemeteries due to depleted burial space, except for those who had pre-booked graves.
