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Shurugwi City Council (Cemeteries) By-laws, 2025

Shurugwi burial fees now run from US$50 for an adult resident at Makusha to US$150 for a non-Zimbabwean at Railway Block, with grave reservation at US$200 — free for those aged 65 and over.

These by-laws govern burials in the Shurugwi council's cemeteries: permission for burial, reservation, exclusive rights of burial, burial times, grave depth, exhumation, memorial works, buildings in cemeteries, opening hours and other restrictions.

Fees differ by cemetery, by day and by the status of the deceased. At Makusha cemetery an adult burial costs US$50 on a weekday, US$60 at weekends and public holidays, US$80 for non-residents and US$100 for non-Zimbabweans; children cost US$25, US$30, US$40 and US$50 respectively. At Railway Block cemetery the equivalent adult figures are US$60, US$70, US$100 and US$150, with children at US$30, US$35, US$50 and US$75.

Across all areas, a tombstone installation application costs US$36,44, as does an application to erect memorial works or to exhume. Grave reservation and its renewal cost US$200 — but are free for people aged 65 and over — with an annual fee of US$10 for a reserved grave. An exclusive right of burial costs US$100, as do special burial times. Grave panels and lined graves are charged at cost recovery.

Penalties are US$250 each for removing a body or coffin from a grave, exhuming without approval, erecting a building in a cemetery without consent and obstructing a designated officer; US$100 for unauthorised burial and for placing more than two bodies in one grave; US$50 for unauthorised entry and for hewing or dressing stone without written permission; and US$20 for entering other than through designated points, advertising, conveying goods, climbing on memorials, placing unapproved floral tributes, planting a tree on a grave and bringing in a vehicle without approval.

Note the instrument is headed "Shurugwi City Council" although Shurugwi is a town council, and it names the same council as the other by-laws gazetted alongside it.

What changed

  • Adult burial at Makusha costs US$50 on weekdays rising to US$100 for non-Zimbabweans; Railway Block runs US$60 to US$150
  • Grave reservation and renewal cost US$200, free for people aged 65 and over, plus US$10 a year
  • An exclusive right of burial and special burial times each cost US$100
  • Removing a body, unapproved exhumation, building in a cemetery and obstructing an officer each carry US$250
  • Unauthorised burial and more than two bodies in a grave carry US$100

Who this affects

  • Bereaved families burying relatives in Shurugwi
  • Older residents reserving graves, who pay nothing from age 65
  • Diaspora families repatriating remains, who pay the non-Zimbabwean rate
  • Funeral parlours and monumental masons

Plain-language summary — not legal advice. Always read the full instrument.