For the first time in 42 years, August 22 saw no bells tolling at Nairobi's Holy Family Basilica. The prayer sanctuary was virtually deserted. Like a ship sailing away in a dark, misty night, the commemoration of Jomo Kenyatta yesterday, the nation's founding President, passed without pomp. In the nearby Parliament Buildings, the parking lot was almost empty... no wreaths and no military pageantry.
Usually, a grand, nearly day-long ceremony, which also acts as a family get-together for the Kenyattas, chaperoned by the matriarch - Mama Ngina Kenyatta and her first son Uhuru Kenyatta - is celebrated in a stately manner. Yesterday, there was only what some security officers guarding Parliament described as "a private ceremony".
During the last commemoration ceremony in 2019, President Uhuru Kenyatta announced that the Kenyatta family had opted to discontinue the elaborate public commemoration of the event, in favour of a private event. “As president, I have consulted the family of the late Jomo Kenyatta and after the consultations, we have agreed that this is going to be the last celebration of Mzee in this stately manner,” the President told a stunned congregation at the Holy Family Basilica in Nairobi.
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The ceremony has traditionally been held at the Basilica, with congregants paying their respects to the country's first president before laying wreaths at Parliament. Uhuru also thanked the late president Daniel arap Moi and former president Mwai Kibaki for observing the memorial each year without fail when they led the country.
No pomp
Yesterday, the church held its usual events without pomp, with a few worshipers joining to pray. One of the leaders at the church told The Standard the family had not reached out this year to request for the ceremony to be held there. “There is no such function here today. The family would have informed us early. They always tell us in advance so that we prepare,” the church leaders, who sought anonymity, said.
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“I remember this event one early morning 41 years ago... To some of us, it looked like it was the end of the world because we couldn’t imagine life without Mzee Jomo Kenyatta. But 41 years down the road, the hope that still carries some of us high is the idea that during the commemoration, we are able to spend time with his family, listen to them as they regale us with memories, and nostalgically remember what Mzee did for this country.”
An emotional Uhuru said at the last public memorial ceremony that he was guided by the need to respect the memory and purpose of his father when he sought leadership. Mzee Kenyatta died on August 22, 1978, after suffering a heart attack at State House in Mombasa. His death came after prolonged health problems, including a heart disease and a few minor strokes. At the time of his death, he had led the country for 14 years, first as Prime minister, and later as president
