African
heads of state have commiserated with the Kenyan people following the death of
its longest-serving President Daniel Moi, who passed on at a Nairobi Hospital.
The
leaders sent their condolences to Kenya and the family of the late former
president Moi who died on Tuesday morning.
Presidents
from the East African region including Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni and Tanzania’s
John Magufuli were among those who took to social media to eulogize Moi.
The
late former president who died aged 95 has been undergoing treatment at the
Nairobi Hospital since October.
In
a related development,, the US embassy in Nairobi offered its condolences to
Kenyans on the death of Moi.
“We
offer our deepest condolences to the people of Kenya and to the family and
friends of former President Daniel Arap Moi upon his passing.
“As
a friend and partner of Kenya for over 55 years, the US stands with Kenyans
during this time of mourning,” Ambassador Kyle McCarter broadcast on the
embassy’s official Twitter page.
Moi,
a former school teacher who ruled Kenya for 24 years, had been in the hospital
for over a month.
“It
is with profound sadness that I announce the death of a great man of an African
state,” President Uhuru Kenyatta said in a statement.
He
ordered a period of national mourning until a state funeral is held on a date
not yet announced.
The
former president died “in the early morning of Feb., at a Nairobi hospital in
the presence of his family,” Kenyatta said.
The
former president will be laid to rest in a state funeral, with all appropriate
civilian and full military honours.
His
son, Gideon Moi, said his father passed away peacefully, and that the family
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 centralisation
of power, corruption and allegations of human rights abuse.
Moi
served as vice president under Kenya’s first post-independence president, Jomo
Kenyatta, before taking over the top post.
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