The former Kenyan President Daniel Toroitich Arap Moi died on the morning of Tuesday, 4 February 2020, while receiving treatment at a Nairobi Hospital.
President Uhuru Kenyatta announced his passing in a Presidential Proclamation.
“It is with profound sadness and sorrow that I announce the passing of a Great African, Statesman, H.E. Daniel Toroitich Arap Moi, the Second President of the Republic of Kenya”, Kenyatta said in the proclamation issued on Tuesday.
“His Excellency the Former President passed on at the Nairobi Hospital on the early morning of this 4th February 2020; in the presence of his Family,” Kenyatta further proclaimed.
Kenyatta announced that the former Kenyan leader shall be accorded a State Funeral, with all appropriate civilian and full military honours. The Kenyan President further ordered the flag of Kenya to be flown half-mast as an expression of sorrow.
“The nation will observe a period of national mourning from Tuesday until the day of his funeral,” he stated.
Moi was hospitalised at the Nairobi hospital with reports indicating that he was being treated for pleural effusion, a medical condition where excess fluids accumulate around the lung areas.
Moi took over the reins of power in 1978, following the death of the country’s first President Jomo Kenyatta. He later handed over power to former President Mwai Kibaki in 2002.
It was under Moi’s rule that Kenya was known to be an island of peace in a troubled region.
However, his legacy will be tainted by the abuse of human rights by his administration, corruption, and mismanagement of a once robust economy.
Perhaps the turning point of Moi’s rule was an attempted coup to overthrow his government in 1982. He ruthlessly cracked down on the coup leaders, including Hezekiah Ochuka, the ringleader, who was eventually executed.
Moi later ruled Kenya with an iron fist since the abortive coup, with his rule marked by the jailing of critics. Many opposition leaders, university lecturers, and student leaders, writers, political activists were tortured at the infamous Nyayo chambers located in Nairobi.
In 1982, the National Assembly amended the constitution, making Kenya officially a one-party state.
However, Moi allowed Kenya to be a multi-party, following international pressure. He later ruled Kenya for another 10 years before retiring in 2002, when he handed power to former President Mwai Kibaki.
– APA
