03/06/2026
Daniel Arap Moi planned Jomo Kenyatta's funeral arrangements ten years before his death.
After Kenyatta’s April 1968 heart attack in Mombasa left him unconscious for 3 days, his inner circle realized he was mortal.
Agriculture Minister Bruce McKenzie approached British High Commissioner Sir Edward Peck to secretly plan both the funeral and the succession.
A secret committee was formed to oversee the process. It included Vice President Daniel Moi, Defence Minister Dr Njoroge Mungai, Attorney-General Charles Njonjo, Bruce McKenzie, and Col J.R. Anderson.
Jomo Kenyatta himself was not informed.
The funeral plan was detailed.
The body was to be embalmed at Gatundu, lie in state at State House Nairobi for three days, then a state funeral on day six.
The service was set for St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, with burial at a site to be named “Kenyatta’s Shrine”.
A special coffin was secretly built in London and a qualified embalmer was to be flown in.
Maps of Gatundu, State House, the church, and the burial site were taken to London.
Though Moi had been VP since 1967, Kenyatta’s Kikuyu inner circle did not trust him and treated him poorly.
The plot to deny Moi the presidency came from the same Kikuyu inner circle, the infamous “Kiambu Mafia”.
They backed Dr Njoroge Mungai as Kenyatta’s long-term successor and saw Moi only as a 90-day caretaker.
On June 19, 1968, McKenzie met Moi and Mungai about the funeral plans. Six days later, Kenya’s 10th Constitutional Amendment passed.
It allowed the Vice President to act as President for 90 days after the President’s death, then face a general election.
As anticipated, Kenyatta died on August 22, 1978 while sleeping at State House, Mombasa. Moi took over and would rule for 24 years.
Cc Mutai