Simon Ateba is Chief White House Correspondent for Today News Africa. Simon covers President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, the U.S. government, the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and other financial and international institutions in Washington D.C. and New York City.
Former President of Kenya, Mwai Kibaki, has died at the age of 90, President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya announced on Friday. Kibaki was the third President of Kenya who also served as the vice President to Daniel arap Moi, replacing him in 2002.
Many observers describe his legacy as complicated. As an economist, Kibaki led Kenya during a robust economic growth and infrastructure developments but he was also in power during the most violent election in Kenya’s history when more than 1200 people died in ethnic clashes following the disputed 2007 polls. He left power in 2013 at the end of his second term.
“Kibaki was a quintessential patriot whose legacy of civic responsibility will continue to inspire generations of Kenyans long into our future,” Kenyatta said in a statement, before announcing that the country would observe a period of national mourning from Friday until his burial.