By PETER LEFTIE pmutibo@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted Friday, October 7 2011 at 22:30
Posted Friday, October 7 2011 at 22:30
The final farewell and funeral rites for Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai begins on Saturday morning in Nairobi.
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Starting at 9.30am, the bamboo-framed casket made out of water hyacinth and papyrus reeds and draped in the Kenyan flag will be wheeled out of Lee Funeral Home and into a hearse to take Prof Maathai on her final journey.
The coffin, specially made by three artisans from the Kisumu Innovation Centre Kenya, is in fulfilment of Prof Maathai’s final wish not to be buried in a wooden coffin.
A programme released by the Greenbelt Movement on Friday said the procession would start at the Lee Funeral Home before proceeding to Freedom Corner, Uhuru Park, for the State funeral expected to be attended by President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga.
The procession will then proceed to the Kariokor Crematorium for a private ceremony attended only by family members. (READ: All set for Maathai’s official funeral rites)
It will be the first time in Kenya that a State funeral will be followed by cremation.
Unlike the funeral of the country’s first president, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta on August 31, 1978, and the eighth vice-president Michael Wamalwa on September 5, 2003, the Nobel laureate will not be accorded the 21-gun salute that normally accompanies the lowering of the body into the grave.
Sing National Anthem
A senior official, who requested anonymity because he is not authorised to speak on behalf of the government, also ruled out speculation that the casket would be placed on a gun carriage and escorted by a military platoon.
“This is an honour the military only reserves for its commander-in-chief. It only happened during Kenyatta’s burial,” he said.
Before leaving Lee Funeral Home, the family will hold a private funeral service at 8am. The cortege will make its way toFreedom Corner through Valley Road before joining Kenyatta Avenue.
It will be met at the Freedom Corner by the Kenya Prisons Band that will play the National Anthem followed by opening prayers.
The family will then plant the Olea Africana (African Olive) tree, a highly valued indigenous tree known as Mutamaiyu in Kikuyu, Kumunyubuti in Luhya and Kang’o in Luo.
It is a versatile tree and thrives in different climatic conditions. After that, President Kibaki and Mr Odinga will lead government officials and dignitaries in paying their last respects.
Government spokesman Alfred Mutua told Saturday Nation that the funeral would be similar to that accorded Mr Wamalwa at his Milimani home in Kitale eight years ago. (READ: Maathai funeral to match that of VP Wamalwa)
Internal Security permanent secretary Francis Kimemia, who has been liaising with the family on the funeral programme, said the gun salute would not be possible given that Prof Maathai would be cremated.
Prof Maathai had expressed her wish to be cremated and her remains interred in an area known as the Democratic Space within the Wangari Maathai Institute for Peace and Environmental Studies at the University of Nairobi’s Kabete campus.After the State funeral, the cortege will begin the last leg of Prof Maathai’s final journey, through Uhuru Highway, past the Haile Selassie/Moi Avenue roundabout, onwards to Landhies Road before branching off at the Kariokor roundabout to the crematorium.
It is expected that the tree planting ceremony at the Freedom Corner will be replicated countrywide through the support of the Green Belt Movement and the government.
“Five thousand seedlings will be planted across the country,” said the family spokesperson, Prof Vertistine Mbaya.
According to the programme released on Friday, a public memorial service will be held next Friday at the Holy Family Minor Basilica at 10am.
A memorial service at her ancestral home, in Ihithe village, Nyeri County, will also be held on the same day at 9am.
The latter service will be coordinated by the local administration and the Kenya Girl Guides Association.
The following day, Saturday October 15, the Greenbelt Movement will team up with the Kenya Forestry Service for a tree programme activity at the Karura Forest from 9am.
Some 5,000 seedlings will be planted on five hectares set aside.
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