Ex-president accorded military burial with 19 gun salute
Hillary Mageka @hillarymageka
Retired President Daniel arap Moi was yesterday accorded full honours military burial accompanied by a 19 gun salute.
The ceremony started in the morning when the body was moved from the Lee Funeral Home to Wilson Airport where it was airlifted to Kabarak in a military chopper.
After the church service at the Kabarak University, the military took over.
The casket draped with a National flag was ferried in a gun carriage as the military officers escorted it, in quick march.
The procession took close to one hour from Kabarak University to Moi’s residence. Once at the residence, the casket was taken to the grave site by the military.
At around 4.24pm, Kenya Navy officers conducted the 19 gun salute, with the shots fired at an interval of five seconds.
The 21-gun salute is reserved for the highest offices such the sitting President. The number of shots fired, usually odd numbers, decreases from there depending on the rank of the deceased.
After the gun salute, the Air Force conducted an aerial salute, also referred to as the missing man formation, a flypast involving three aircraft.
The long reveille was sounded by the buglers as all the military officers the saluted.
At 4.25pm, the last post bugle call was sounded, an indication that the ceremony was coming to an end. Two military officers would then ceremonially fold national flag.
On Tuesday, the military also conducted a dignified full military ceremony for Moi at the Nyayo Stadium in Nairobi.
The formal and respectful ceremony, characterised by proper military etiquette, began from the Lee Funeral Home with the conveyance of the body under escort in a gun carriage to the venue of the service.
