The burial of retired President, the late Mzee Daniel arap Moi scheduled for Wednesday, February 12, will see the enforcement of a strict set of rules binding to all attendees.
The burial which will be held in Kabarak, Nakuru County is expected to be attended by mourners in the upwards of 30,000 with Kenyans being promised drinks and snacks at the venue.
A report by Citizen Digital on Tuesday, February 11, provided that George Natembeya, the Rift Valley Regional Commissioner, had announced restrictions in advance to prevent any attendees from being barred from accessing the venue as had earlier happened with a man who had cycled 233km from Kakamega.
One of the directives in place ahead of the burial is that only 500 people, most family members would be allowed on the burial site.
Natembeya, in a surprise pronouncement, directed that only the Kenya National Union (Kanu) political party attire would be allowed in the venue for the final ceremony at the Kabarak University Grounds.
This he clarified, meant that any other clothing bearing emblems of any other political party would not be allowed at the burial.
“This is not a political function, don’t come here with BBI t-shirts or any other,” he asserted as quoted by Citizen TV.
Given the status of the funeral, that will see dignitaries from at least 10 countries in attendance, there are bound to be a host of other restrictions to ensure that the ceremony proceeds without a hitch.
Natembeya, in this light, also made pronouncements on the security measures that will be in place over the course of the day’s events.
General Service Police (GSU), Administrative Police (AP), regular police as well as traffic police have all been deployed to offer extra security at Mzee’s Kabarak home.
Natemebeya, who spoke to The Standard on Tuesday, February 11, said that the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) had also been deployed to further beef up security.
“Security ahead of burial is tight, with adequate police officers and KDF deployed at the venue and along the highway. We have police officers on standby, who will be deployed to areas of need, and also others continue to conduct traffic patrols in designated localities and the highway.”
