He is the longest serving President Kenya has had. At his State Funeral ceremonies, Kenya put aside his slip ups, and honoured him with pomp and fanfare befitting an African Statesman.

I must have been around 5 when I first saw Daniel Toroitich arap Moi up close. I was a pupil at Lady Northey Nursery School along State House Avenue, a route Moi’s motorcade used many times as he made his way to and from State House Nairobi.

Many are the times we were called out of class, made to line up along both sides of the Jacaranda-lined avenue, and handed paper flags which we would wave frantically, shouting ‘Nyayo! Nyayo! Nyayo!’ at the top of our shrill voices as his motorcade passed.

Sometimes he stopped, and from his 600 Pullman’s sunroof, address us, watoto wa Nyayo. I don’t recall what he said, but I remember one of those addresses made it to the black and white VOK TV news. This was in 1982.

My next memorable close encounter came over a decade later, when I was a student at Kagumo High School. This must have been 1993 / 1994.

Our school wasn’t far from the National Police College in Kiganjo, Nyeri. During one of the passing out ceremonies that Moi always presided over as Commander in Chief, we were called out of class and together with students from Sacred Heart Girls’ School, made to line up where the A2 meets the Nyeri – Kiganjo Road. Our combined bass and soprano cheering must have worked rhythmic wonders because Moi asked his motorcade to stop, and each of the schools was given Kshs30,000/- to spend as they wished.

Back at Kagumo, we conducted a poll and overwhelmingly voted to purchase a music system from Nairobi. A few weeks later, the Entertainment Prefect and a teacher were driven to Nairobi and our school became proud owners of a music system with AM/FM, double cassette deck, 5-band equalizer and a CD player – even if none of us had CDs then.

Fast forward many years later, and on 3rd February 2020, after 18 years as a retired President, Moi breathed his last.

I attended the State Funeral ceremonies in Nairobi and this is what I saw.

The public viewing of his body was held from Saturday 8th to Monday 10th February 2020. Early Saturday morning, I was at Parliament together with fellow photographer Boniface Muthoni ready to capture the day’s moments.

It’s rare for one to get shots of government buildings, no questions asked. On this day, there were no questions and the sun was full of answers.

Citizens started lining up from early. Teams from the National Youth Service (NYS) and Kenya Defence Forces did a good job of maintaining order along City Hall Way.

Along Parliament Road, journalists and government officials guarded their vantage positions, ready for the arrival of President Uhuru Kenyatta who was expected at 10.15am.

At the expected time, the President arrived.

Less than 30 minutes after arriving, Uhuru Kenyatta left after viewing Moi’s body, and Parliament’s gates were open for the public to do the same.

I too didn’t know we had a SWAT team in Kenya. These elite women were called in when the people lining up became too rowdy for the NYS.

They were effective in their crowd control without swatting anyone.

Kenyans’ enterprising spirit remains undefeated.

Tuesday 11th February 2020 was declared a public holiday to mourn the passing of Moi. A funeral service was planned for Nyayo National Stadium.

Otherwise busy streets in Nairobi’s CBD were free of early morning traffic, with many choosing to remain home and follow the funeral service on live TV.

Members of the Kenya Police Service lined the route Moi’s cortege was to use while going to Nyayo Stadium from Lee Funeral Home via State House Nairobi.

That’s the new Kenya Police Ceremonial uniform.

Me inspecting a guard of honour sponsored by the School Milk Brigade. Picture by Boniface Muthoni.

In case you’ve never noticed it, the Nyayo Stadium water reservoir is modelled after Moi’s rungu, a traditional symbol of leadership he always had at public functions.

When Moi took over from Jomo Kenyatta in 1978, he said he would follow in the first president’s footsteps – nyayo in Swahili. During his 24-year rule, chants of ‘Nyayo, Nyayo, Nyayo’ welcomed President Moi everywhere he went. It even became his nickname. So when Nyayo National Stadium was built in 1983, the floodlight towers and water reservoir were modelled in the shape of Nyayo’s trademark rungu.

If you didn’t know, you’re welcome.

Along Aerodromes Road, dignitaries arrived for the funeral service. I was happy to see Governors arriving in a bus, reducing the need to find parking for 40+ extra vehicles in Nyayo Stadium’s limited parking space.

Hunger busters were in plenty.

At around 10am, the Presidential Motorcade arrived.

If you saw the shadows of the cops saluting before I pointed them out to you, I salute you too.

This was followed by Moi’s cortege.

The stadium was packed to capacity, with hundreds denied access because it was full. Many inside the stadium had been here several times before, during National holiday celebrations, to see and hear Moi address them before his retirement in 2002.

Today they were back to see him; only this time, he was silent.

One of the additions to Nyayo National Stadium in the ongoing (it didn’t look complete) renovations are watering points. They came in very handy in the 30-degree heat.

The stadium was colourful but mostly solemn. I’ve photographed several national events, and I’ve never experienced a sombre mood like the one at Nyayo.

After speeches from dignitaries and prayers from clergy, Moi left Nyayo one final time, and we gave him our final salute.

And with the exit of Moi’s cortege, the funeral service came to an end.

At the front of the presidential dias was a photo exhibition showcasing key moments in Moi’s life. It was curated by Wachu Wanjaria.

That is Uhuru Kenyatta’s Presidential Standard flag. It is flown at public functions where he is in attendance. It is also the other flag on his presidential limousine. Moi’s was different.

It’s Arap.