As the country comes to terms with the passing on of Mzee Daniel Arap Moi, Kenya’s second president, details on how the deceased politician spent his final days have emerged.
The late ex-president, had, in the weeks leading up to his death, spent time with his close family and friends, and in a move suggesting that he knew his death was around the corner, made peace with his creator.
This is according to sources familiar with Mzee Moi, who disclosed that the former head of state had instructed his son, Baringo Senator Gideon Moi, to ensure that the AIC Church gave him his last sacrament before he died.
Mzee’s wish was fulfilled by retired Bishop Silas Yego, who visited him at the Nairobi Hospital on Friday, and administered the religious rite which, in the Christian belief, is a sign of renouncement of sin.
The late president, who was revered and feared in equal measure during his 24-year tenure at the helm of the country’s leadership, partook of the Holy Communion in a ceremony that lasted five hours.
Moi passed away on Tuesday aged 95, although his close friends claimed that he might have been aged over 100.
Leaders who often called on Moi during his hospitalization period include President Uhuru Kenyatta, Moi’s former political foe Raila Odinga, and Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i.
Before leaving the country for the US, Uhuru visited Moi in hospital on Sunday, a day after his condition reportedly deteriorated, forcing medics to put him on life support.
The late Moi is set to be buried on Wednesday in a State funeral.