NAIROBI; Tens of thousands of Kenyans thronged the Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi where the state memorial service of Kenya’s second President and iconic leader Mzee Daniel Toroitich arap Moi was held.
Led by President Uhuru Kenyatta, mourners were joined by African Heads of State and Government and delegations from across the world signifying the high regard in which Mzee Moi was held.
East African leaders President Yoweri Museveni (Uganda), Paul Kagame (Rwanda), Salva Kiir (South Sudan), Omar Hassan Guelleh (Djibouti), Brahim Ghali (Western Sahara), Sahle Work-Zewde (Ethiopia) and Nigerian Vice President Yemi Osinbajo were among the leaders who attended the service.
President Kenyatta and the other leaders eulogised the former President as a peacemaker and a patriotic son of Africa. President Kenyatta said Mzee Moi brought peace and stability to many nations through Kenya’s contribution to peacekeeping and mediation initiatives.
Mzee Moi’s body has been lying in state at Parliament Buildings and a staggering 213,000 people were granted access to view the body, according to police sources.
Moi is the second Kenyan leader to be accorded a state funeral with full civilian and military ceremonial honors in events that will largely mirror those of Kenya’s founding President Mzee Jomo Kenyatta.
The full military honors include being escorted in a gun carriage, accompanied by military musical honors and a 19 gun-salute.
The difference with his predecessor’s state funeral is that while Mzee Moi got a 19-gun salute and will not be dressed in military uniform, Mzee Kenyatta, who died while in office in 1978, received a 21-gun salute and was dressed in military regalia.
