Rwandan President Paul Kagame has arrived in Kenya where he is expected to attend Tuesday the burial of former president Daniel arap Moi who died last week aged 95, an official source confirmed to APA in Kigali.
Rwandan leader will be joining a dozen of other presidents, including Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni and Salva Kiir (South Sudan) who have already confirmed they will attend the event.
Former Tanzanian presidents Benjamin Mkapa and Jakaya Kikwete will also be among dignitaries gracing the burial at the Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi, where the funeral service will take place, it said.
Moi ruled Kenya for 24 years from August 22, 1978 to 2002 when he handed over to Mwai Kibaki.
Born on September 2, 1924, Moi first served as Vice President for fourteen years, before taking over as an Acting President on August 22, 1978, following the death of President Jomo Kenyatta, who ascended to the presidency in 1964 after serving as Kenya’s inaugural Prime Minister when the country gained independence in 1963.
Moi’s ascension to power was in accordance with a constitutional provision that mandated the Vice President to govern for ninety days in the event the seat of the President fell vacant.
Moi had ventured into politics in 1955 following his election as member of the Rift Valley Legislative Council, replacing John ole Tameno.
He later served as Education Minister in the pre-independence government (1960 – 1961).
A founding member of the Kenya African Democratic Union (KADU), Moi alongside co-founder Ronald Ngala joined the governing KANU after the party was disbanded.
He served as Home Affairs Minister before taking over as Vice President in 1967 when Joseph Murumbi who had hardly been on the job for five-months tendered his resignation.
He later was declared substantive President in September 1978 after a special cabinet meeting endorsed him for the November 8, 1978 poll.
CU/abj/APA