Some leaders have stirred up debate on the best burial site for President Mwai Kibaki, arguing that the former Head of State deserves a burial at the Heroes Corner in Uhuru Gardens, Nairobi.
The funeral committee chaired by Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr Fred Matiang’i has already announced that the late president will be interred at his Othaya home in Nyeri County on April 30.
The leaders say Mr Kibaki ought to be buried at the Heroes’ Corner due to his immense contributions to the country.
“He is the only leader since independence who started clean and finished clean, 2007-2008 post-election violence notwithstanding,” Mr Bosire told the Nation.
Mr Kibaki, he noted, had set a good example, “always steered clear of any violence, any corruption, grabbing of anything and stood as a national leader – a hero and a man of the people. He has not died, but rested”.
Murang’a Senator Irungu Kang’ata said Mr Kibaki deserves a decent burial at the Heroes Corner due to “his long, unique and unparalleled public service”.
He said that Mr Kibaki’s efforts to revive economy were unique and his role in enacting “one of the most progressive constitutions in the world qualifies him for such honour”.
“Burying him in Othaya is good and cultural but his legacy belongs to every Kenyan. He outgrew Othaya after he did such major reforms as the free (primary) education,” said the senator.
Gatanga MP Nduati Ngugi said: “Kibaki is a Kenyan hero. He economically set this country on a trajectory which will shortly see this country improve in the ranking of economic powers of this world,” he said.
“He deserves to be buried in the Heroes Corner, not in a rural place somewhere,” the Gatanga MP added.
Jubilee Vice-Chairman David Murathe, however, insisted that the remains of the former president should be buried according to his wishes.
“We must respect his wish to be buried next to his wife (Lucy Kibaki),” Mr Murathe told the Nation.
Wiper party vice-chairman Mutula Kilonzo Jnr said that since the country does not have a designated place to bury departed presidents, the former president should be laid to rest at his home in Othaya, just as former president Daniel Moi was buried at his Kabarak home in Nakuru.
“I don’t agree (with the suggestion that Kibaki be buried at the Heroes Corner). Kibaki refused to have Thika Road named after him. He also refused to have Dedan Kimathi University named after him. He abhorred pomp and since we have no place set aside to bury our departed presidents, we should lay him to rest in Othaya,” Mr Kilonzo said.
But Mr Bosire argued that Mr Kibaki is one of the most cherished Kenyan leaders who should be a reference point having served the country “without looking to create any problem”.
“Since he left office, he has not meddled in the leadership – a great true leader of this country. He should be taken care of by the public. This should be a reference for the committee arranging his interment,” said Mr Bosire.
There have also been discussions on whether to move the Jomo Kenyatta Mausoleum from Parliament to the new Uhuru Gardens site.
During the Jamhuri Day celebrations on December 12 last year, President Uhuru Kenyatta said the Uhuru Gardens Museum would open its doors to the public this month.
Uhuru Gardens, which is situated along Nairobi’s Lang'ata Road, is the site where Kenya’s founding fathers celebrated independence day in 1963 and the attainment of republic status in 1964.
With the construction of the museum, President Kenyatta said Kenyans can appreciate the pain felt and sacrifices made by national heroes and heroines and the fallen soldiers buried in unmarked graves in prisons and camps all over the country.
“By creating this garden as a place of remembrance, our founding fathers wanted generations to recall the darkness of our colonial past, but not to be stuck in the pessimism that dark memories can breed,” the President said.
The museum, once completed, will not only hold the memories of Kenya’s armed struggle, but also the good, the bad and the ugly of our history, the President said.
The Hall of Legends, he said, will bring alive Kenya’s legendary ancestors including Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, Mekatilili wa Menza, Koitalel arap Samoei, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga and Nabongo Mumia, among others.
At the Tunnel of Martyrs, Kenyans will have a solemn memorial to each and every Kenyan who lost their lives in the many watershed moments. These will range from the First to Second World War all the way to the victims of the post-election violence of 2008, the President said.
Mr Kibaki died in Nairobi on Friday morning. Before breathing his last, the former president had been in and out of Nairobi Hospital for various ailments, including blood pressure.
Some close family sources also said Mr Kibaki was still battling the effects of the 2002 road accident he was involved in ahead of the elections that thrust him into the leadership of the country.
President Kibaki’s body will lie in state at Parliament from today up to Wednesday. Government officials, dignitaries and the public will be allowed to view the body and pay their respects.
