Kenya’s third president (from 2003 to 2013), Mwai Kibaki, has died aged 90.
According to President Uhuru Kenyatta, Kibaki died on Thursday night.
“It is my sorrowful duty to announce to the nation the passing on of His Excellency Emilio Mwai Kibaki, the third president of the Republic of Kenya,” Kenyatta said in a televised address from State House. “We have lost a great leader.”
Kenyatta declared a mourning period until Kibaki’s burial, with the flying of the East African country’s flags at half-mast.
Kibaki was noted for his liberal reforms, which revived Kenya’s ailing economy; however, he was accused of being unable to adequately contain Kenya’s widely entrenched culture of endemic corruption.
Since leaving office, Kibaki had been in and out of the hospital due to multiple health complications and old age.
The deceased is survived by four children. His wife, Lucy Kibaki, died in 2016.
Kibaki’s family has shown little interest in politics save for his nephew Ndiritu Muriithi, the current Governor of Laikipia County.
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