Former Kenyan President, Daniel Arap Is Dead

 

Daniel Arap Moi, the former President of the East African nation of Kenya, who was notorious for ruling with a strong hand has died on Tuesday. He lived for 95 years.

Moi’s death was announced by the office of the current President Uhuru Kenyatta.

“It is with profound sadness and sorrow that I announce the passing of a great African statesman, Arap Moi, the second president of the Republic of Kenya.

“The former president passed on at the Nairobi Hospital in the wee hours of Feb. 4, in the presence of his family,” Kenyatta said.

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Kenyatta has announced a period of national mourning from Tuesday until the day of his funeral.

The former president will be laid to rest in a state funeral, with all appropriate civilian and full military honors.

His son, Gideon Moi, said his father passed away peacefully and that the families had accepted it.

“I give my heartfelt gratitude to all Kenyans,” he said.

Moi was in office from 1978 to 2002, a time that was marked by the centralization of power, corruption, and allegations of human rights abuses.

The former British colony was a one-party state during much of his rule.

Moi served as vice-president under Kenya’s first post-independence president, Jomo Kenyatta, before taking over the top post.

The press secretary to the current president, Mr. Lee Njiru, told local TV channel CitizenTV that Moi had been in the hospital for a while.

“He has been hospitalized from 2019. I have seen his decline.

“God has declared his will, and we have to abide by it,” Njiru said. (dpa/NAN)