Religious leaders joined the military in leading the lap of honour at Nyayo Stadium where crowds gathered for the funeral service of retired president Daniel Moi. Principal Imam and principal chaplains of the Anglican and Catholic churches were in the front line yesterday when the military band started their 400-metre march around the stadium.They led the eight pall bearers to the area where the prayer service was to be held.
At the service area, the clergy from a mix of religious affiliations sat waiting. Those present included retired bishop of the African Inland Church Silas Yego (pictured), who presided over the service, the Catholic Church’s John Cardinal Njue, Bishop Abraham Mulwa of AIC, Jackson ole Sapit of the Anglican church, Winnie Owiti of Voice of Salvation Churches, Bishop Mark Kariuki of Deliverance church, Rev Esther Wambua of Pentecostal Assemblies of God, and leaders from the Sikh community.
Bishop Yego deviated from the norm to let “Moi preach”.“I decided that Moi himself should preach to us. You may be wondering how a dead person can preach to us. I will be touching on what he believed in,” Yego explained.
He told the gathering that Moi and his Bible were inseparable. He said Moi underlined every verse in his Bible which meant a lot to him and could quote several verses that he had memorised.Yego used quotes that Moi had shared with him on life in his sermon.
“About death, Moi was prepared. He would tell mourners at funerals that we are pilgrims…” he said.He also gave some of the pillars that Moi believed in, including salvation. Said Yego: “He preached to many people about salvation, although he did not force anybody to get saved.”Other values that he said Moi upheld were forgiveness and truthfulness. He added that Moi was strict when it came to telling lies.
“I remember one day when we had a problem with teachers in 1997. When I saw there was a problem, I tried to advise him by telling him: ‘Why don’t you tell them we will give you some money sometime? He told me, Bishop, that is a lie and I will not lie. The following day, he went on air and said there was no money,” said Yego, to the amusement of the crowd.
