Senior Leaders within government circles have sparked debate over the best burial site for President Mwai Kibaki.
According to sources, they claim that the former Head of State deserves to be buried at the Heroes Corner in Nairobi’s Uhuru Gardens because of his impact on the country’s history since independence.
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 the economy were unique and his role in enacting “one of the most progressive constitutions in the world qualifies him for such honor”.
Gatanga MP Nduati Ngugi also said that Kibaki deserves to be buried in the Heroes Corner, not in a rural place somewhere.
However, Jubilee Vice-Chairman David Murathe 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.
According to a local daily, Kibaki’s death wish was to be buried next to his late wife Lucy Kibaki, who died three years ago.
Wiper party vice-chairman Mutula Kilonzo Junior 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.
Mutula also noted that the country has a responsibility to respect his death wish by burying him next to his wife in Othaya.
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.
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.
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