The National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) has joined the nation in mourning the death of the third President of Kenya, the late Emilio Mwai Kibaki, who passed away on 21st, April at a Nairobi hospital, while undergoing treatment.
Condoling the nation and family of the late Kibaki on behalf of NCCK, the General Secretary, Rev. Canon Chris Kinyanjui, said the Council will treasure and remember the late Kibaki for dedicating his life to provide service to Kenyans for more than five decades, which brought tremendous achievements in the country.
He added that the fallen President will also be remembered for creating democratic space and freedom of expression that Kenyans enjoyed during his tenure.
“The psychological and mental impact of this freedom and space is immeasurable, and something Kenyans will always treasure and jealously guard,” stated the General Secretary.
In a press statement sent to newsrooms, Kinyanjui further said the citizenry will also cherish the former President for the consolidated Kenya’s nascent democracy, when he promulgated the Constitution of Kenya 2010, which bears one of the most progressive Bill of Rights on earth.
“The President’s name, Mwai Kibaki, will always elicit in our hearts, minds and memories,” he stated, adding that it is also during his Presidency that Kenya witnessed leap-fold economic growth, enhanced fiscal discipline and economic recovery.
Kinyanjui said the church treasures the seeds of national cohesion and integration planted by the former President and his collaboration with former competitors, not as an abstract ideal but a new spirit in the path of peace and prosperity.
He said the Council prays to God to grant the family, friends, and Kenyans as a whole peace and comfort, during this period of mourning and prayed to God to rest late Kibaki’s soul in eternal peace.
Tomorrow Friday, April 29, the military will lead a gun carriage and former President Kibaki’s state funeral procession to Nyayo National Stadium where interdenominational state memorial service will take place.
The late Kibaki who leaves behind children Judy Wanjiku, Jimmy Kibaki, David Kagai and Tony Githinji and grandchildren, will be laid to rest on Saturday, April 30, this year at his home in Kanyange in Othaya, Nyeri County, where he will be accorded a state funeral.
By Bernadette Khaduli
