Kibaki family ready to bury Mama Lucy

A portrait of the late First Lady Lucy Kibaki is placed next to a condolence book at Harambee House on May 3, 2016. Over 3,000 dignitaries will be among the 20,000 mourners expected to attend a requiem Mass at the Approved School Ground in Othaya before the burial ceremony. PHOTO | EVANS HABIL | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • He noted the body will leave Lee Funeral Home in Nairobi at 8am and pass through their Muthaiga home, where family members will be allowed to view it, before proceeding to Othaya.
  • Soon after the Mass, the body of Mama Lucy will be taken to her Othaya home where a private burial will be conducted attended by family members and a few government officials.

Former First Lady Lucy Muthoni Kibaki will buried today (Saturday) in Othaya in a ceremony that has been described by officials as a “State function with a family touch”.

Over 3,000 dignitaries will be among the 20,000 mourners expected to attend a requiem Mass at the Approved School Ground in Othaya before the burial ceremony.

According to Interior PS Karanja Kibicho, who is also the national chairman of the burial committee, the Mass will start at exactly 11am.

President Uhuru Kenyatta is expected to have arrived by that time.

“The Mass will take only two hours, it will be purely about giving a decent farewell to Mama Lucy who has played a great role in this country,” said Mr Kibicho.

He noted the body will leave Lee Funeral Home in Nairobi at 8am and pass through their Muthaiga home, where family members will be allowed to view it, before proceeding to Othaya.

“A procession will start from Sagana through Mukurweini where she was born and raised and then to the Approved School Ground where the Mass will be held,” he added.

He further said security officers from the Recce Squad, AP, the Kenya Police and the National Youth Service have been deployed at the retired President Mwai Kibaki’s Othaya home and the Approved School Ground.

The public will be allowed to attend the funeral service. The government will install screens at various points to enable residents to follow the happenings at the ground.

On Friday evening, casual workers were busy spreading gravel at the entrances of the school ground for a second time after a heavy downpour Thursday night and Friday morning, making the venue muddy.

The government is also planning to have eight screening check points.

Soon after the Mass, the body of Mama Lucy will be taken to her Othaya home where a private burial will be conducted attended by family members and a few government officials.

A source told the Saturday Nation that Mr Kibaki’s family decided that the grave in which Mama Lucy will be laid to rest will not be cemented.

Only KBC will be allowed to air some part of the private burial at the Othaya home.

The Nyeri county government has provided six ambulances and prepared a response team at the Othaya Level Four Hospital to deal with any emergencies.