Despite her connections to the Daniel Moi family, Lena Moi, the estranged former First Lady, lived a modest life at Eldama Ravine in Baringo County.
More often than not, she preferred a quiet life and led a life of normal village wife, including taking matatu to various destinations when she deemed it fit.
At Kabimoi where she stayed close to her eldest son Jonathan Moi who died last week, Lena also stayed in a leaking house, and is said to have converted sitting room to bedroom.
In 1998 when attending her son-in-law Ibrahim Choge's funeral at Nandi, she is said to have boarded a matatu and sat amongst mourners. Ibrahim was husband to Doris Moi, Lena's daughter.
“She had no problem using a matatu,” said a family friend. By the time of her death, Lena’s bedroom had been shifted to the sitting room because the roof was leaking.
“Nobody knew how she came to the funeral and sat with the crowd. Apparently, she had taken a matatu from Ravine to Nandi Hills as other mourners arrived in cars and helicopters. That was the life Jonathan lived, too,” says the family member who spoke to us anonymously.
In 2004, curtains fell for the First Lady who lived without being noticed. It's not clear why she divorced with President Daniel Moi, who ruled the country for over two decades.
In a past interview, Moi admitted that he had issues with his family, accusing them of not giving him moral support in public. Like his mother, Jonathan who died last week, lived largely a private life.