Please exercise extreme caution when visiting this cemetery. The site is frequented by vagrants and groups of people, resulting in increased criminal activity.

This cemetery is located 3 kilometres south-east of the city centre on Uhuru Highway leading from the airport to Nairobi town centre. Coming from the airport the cemetery is situated directly beside the road on the left, adjacent to the Bunyala roundabout. This is the first roundabout after the Nyayo National Stadium. The wide dirt road leading to the cemetery entrance is marked by a CWGC direction sign.

This was the first cemetery in Nairobi, originally established and managed by the Uganda Railway Authorities. The first burial taking place in 1896. After Nairobi City Council took over the management, City Engineer Walter W Ridout, established a register initially using records supplied by the Railway. However, those records were incomplete and consequently there are 26 burials that occurred prior to 1907 which are unidentified.

In 1909 part of the plot was sectioned off to form a Jewish cemetery with the first burial taking place that year. The main cemetery became full around 1920 and a new cemetery was set up at Forest Road. However, the Jewish section continued to be used until the 1950's when it too became full and a new plot was established alongside the main cemetery at Forest Road.

During the First World War, Nairobi was the headquarters of the King's African Rifles and became the main hospital centre for the East African campaign. The cemetery contains 155 Commonwealth War Graves of the First World War, mostly in one section, interspersed by civilian graves. There are also two burials of the Second World War. The cemetery also contains the Nairobi British and Indian Memorial, a screen wall which commemorates British and Indian officers and men who lost their lives in the East African campaign before the advance to the Rufiji in January 1917.

The cemetery is the last resting place for many of Kenya's pioneer settlers. One of note being Charles Henry Ryall who lost his life when he was dragged from his railway compartment (on display at the Nairobi Railway Museum) by the infamous man-eating lion of Tsavo.