How Moi's burial is different from other Kalenjin sub-tribes

Military officers escort the gun carriage ferrying the body of former president Daniel arap Moi to the Nyayo National Stadium for a funeral service on February 11, 2020. PHOTO |LUCY WANJIRU | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • According to Kalenjin burial traditions, minors and unmarried men and women are subjected to different rituals.

The burial rites of former president Daniel Moi, who comes from the Tugen ethnic group, will be different from other Kalenjin sub-tribes.

According to the Kalenjin sub-tribes, including Kipsigis, Nandi, Keiyo, Marakwet, Sabaot, Terik, when an elderly man dies, his body is usually kept at a house for a night before it is laid to rest the following day.

But Moi’s body will be flown home Wednesday morning and buried the same day.

According to Kalenjin burial traditions, minors and unmarried men and women are subjected to different rituals.

When a minor dies at home, they are usually buried the same day. If they die elsewhere, they are buried the same day the body is transported home.

Except for the Nandi, unmarried men and women who were childless at the time of their death are also buried the same day their bodies are transported home. 

For the former president, a funeral service will be held in Kabarak before he is laid to rest next to the grave of his wife, Lena Moi, at his Kabarak home in Nakuru County.