More than 100 religious leaders drawn from various faiths and denominations gathered at the Kabarak home of late President Daniel Arap Moi on Sunday, March 1 in Nakuru County.
The leaders condoled with Baringo Senator Gideon Moi and prayed for the baton which was famously handed to him by his elder brother Raymond Moi during their father's funeral on February 12.
The baton belonged to the elder Moi and was a conspicuous symbol of power during his rule which lasted 24 years between 1978 and 2002.
The event marked the start of a 40-day mourning period in which leaders and individuals will be welcomed to the Kabarak home to condole with the family. It featured strong political undertones as Gideon reiterated his interest in the Presidency in the 2022 General Election with his allies maintaining that the period marked the beginning of the revival of the Kenya Africa National Union (KANU).
The religious leaders, primarily drawn from Baringo County, promised to pray for Gideon in his quest for the top seat as they assured the family of their support.
"We will not stop praying for each other and talking to each other. We want to tell Gideon to take heart, stand strong and move forward with the baton," one of the leaders told reporters after the event.
Tiaty MP William Kamket further declared that the mourning period would have a serious impact on the country's political landscape as KANU looks to re-position itself.
“The prayer meeting was attended by more than 100 religious leaders from Muslim, Christian and Hindu faiths to bless the rungu (baton) that was handed over to our party leader
“From Wednesday and Thursday we expect a huge number of visitors at Kabarak to join Kanu and Mzee Moi family
“This mourning will be a big ceremony and we expect thousands of friends of Kanu and Mzee Moi to troop at Kabarak, we want to shake the political landscape. Utashangaa (you will be surprised),” he stated.
Kamket additionally revealed that Gideon would be attending the funeral of veteran opposition politician Lawrence Nginyo Kariuki on Tuesday, March 3 affecting the planned itinerary at Kabarak.
“Our party leader will be attending the burial of the late politician Nginyo Kariuki and he will not be able to receive guests but after the burial, it will be all systems go and Kabarak will experience heavy traffic of visitors,” he asserted.
Watch a video of religious leaders speaking after the Kabarak event below courtesy of KTN News:
