The body of the late former President Daniel arap Moi arrived at Parliament Buildings from Lee Funeral Home on Sunday morning for the second day of public viewing.
Crowds of people had already queued from as early as 5:00 am to gain access to the building to pay respect to the former president who died at The Nairobi Hospital on Tuesday after a long illness.
On Sunday, several leaders, including former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who was in Ethiopia on Saturday, are expected to view the remains of the former president.
On Saturday, the security officials manning the gates and the area around Parliament had a challenging time trying to control the crowd building by the minute before forcing everyone to stay in an orderly queue.
The security team is, however, on the lookout for anyone stepping out of the queue as members of the public are all expected to stay in a designated area.
When viewing the body, upon strict safety scrutiny from the security team, one is expected to spend at most 10 seconds at the scene.
Day 2 of public viewing of Mzee Moi’s body kicks-off at Parliament buildings; 24,683 people viewed the body yesterday. pic.twitter.com/Z1mZkwX0j4
— Hot 96 FM Kenya (@Hot_96Kenya) February 9, 2020
In addition, children below 10 years are not allowed in the building. Some mothers were forced back by the security officials after showing up with underage kids.
Moreover, members of the public willing to pay their last respects to Kenya’s second president will only be allowed into the parliament buildings from 8AM to 5PM until Monday.
On Saturday, six military officers drawn from all the Kenya Defence Forces formations stood guard next to the body as the public went about viewing it.
However, Kenyans should not expect any confrontation from the security officials who are, as observed on Saturday, very considerate and allowed all to pay their last respects without harassment.
“I thought the military would make things very difficult, but it was surprisingly smooth for us. The line was moving well,” one mourner was quoted by a local publication.
The body of the former president will lie in state until Monday.
A requiem mass will then be held at Nyayo Stadium on Tuesday before the body is transported to his Kabarak home for burial.