Moi service: Nyayo stadium packed with Kenyans

Kenyans from all walks of life started streaming into Nyayo national stadium in the capital Nairobi for the funeral service of former president Daniel Toroitich arap Moi.

Moi died on Tuesday last week.

From as early as 5am, people had started lining up to enter the stadium.

School buses from various parts of the country, which have been used to ferry mourners to the venue, were parked on various sides of town as people were asked to alight and line up from the access road that branches from Bunyala Road into the stadium.

At round 7.20am, the military gun carriage arrived at the venue.

Shortly after, some of Moi's relatives and VIP guests started to arrive.

Kenyans had been asked to be seated by 8am. The service is expected to start at 10am when President Uhuru Kenyatta, State officials and guests will arrive.

About 11 heads of state are expected at the event. It has not yet been revealed who the 11 are and whether they will all attend the service in Nairobi, or will opt to attend the funeral service tomorrow in Moi's hometown Kabarak, in the Rift Valley.

Last week, the government designated today a public holiday for the memorial service.

Mzee Moi’s body has been lying in state at Parliament Buildings and a staggering 213,000 people were granted access to view his body, according to police sources.

Moi’s will be the second State funeral with full civilian and military ceremonial honours in events that will largely mirror that of Kenya’s founding President Mzee Jomo Kenyatta.

The full military honours include being escorted in a gun carriage, accompanied by military musical honours and a 19 gun-salute.

The difference with his predecessor’s State funeral is that while Mzee Moi will get a 19-gun salute and will not be dressed in military uniform, Mzee Kenyatta, who died while in office in 1978, had a 21-gun salute and was dressed in military regalia.