Kenya’s vice president dies
Kenya’s Vice President Michael Kijana Wamalwa has died in London, where he had been hospitalised for several weeks, President Mwai Kibaki said.
Wamalwa, 59, was being treated in the Royal Free Hospital in London when he died in the early hours of Saturday, Kibaki said in a statement issued by the Presidential Press Service.
A local independent television station said Wamalwa, who was admitted to the hospital in June, suffered kidney failure.
Friend and comrade
Kibaki said Kenya “had lost a patriot and a gentleman who served his country with dedication to enhance the democratic space.” He said he had lost “a friend and comrade”.
Wamalwa, a British-educated lawyer, was appointed vice president in January.
His appointment followed the success of the opposition National Rainbow Coalition, lead by Kibaki, against the long-ruling Kenya African National Union party of former president Daniel arap Moi in presidential, parliamentary and local council elections held on December 27.