President Uhuru Kenyatta on Friday ordered flags to be flown half-mast for three days in honor of former Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, who died on Friday morning in Singapore while undergoing treatment.
Kenyatta said that Kenya has lost a true friend and described Mugabe as a shining beacon of Africa’s liberation struggle, and an icon that led Zimbabwe in its liberation struggle from Colonialism to independence.
“He was also an embodiment of the Pan African spirit, offering immeasurable assistance to his neighbour South Africa, in their struggle to end apartheid, and in his steady insistence that Africa’s problems required African solutions,” Kenyatta noted.
Kenyatta noted that Mugabe who passed away at the age of 95 spent a lifetime challenging Africa to find its place and voice among the Community of Nations, and stand tall, noting that he will be fondly missed and remembered.
Kenyatta directed that the Kenyan flag should be flown half-mast at the State House and upon all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels from dawn on Saturday the 7th September, 2019 until sunset, on Monday the 9th September, 2019.
“Kenya and Zimbabwe enjoy strong cordial relations founded on our shared struggle against colonialism and for self-determination. Throughout his tenure as President, H. E. Mugabe maintained close relationships with Kenya, visiting Kenya on several occasions, the last such occasion was during TICAD VI in 2016,” noted Kenyatta.
“It is this close relationship that has seen Kenya and Zimbabwe assist each other to build capacities in various fields and confer each other at different multilateral fora. We will remember him for nurturing a strong and growing the relationship between Kenya and Zimbabwe,” he added.
Mugabe became an outspoken critic of the West, most notably the United Kingdom, the former colonial power, which he denounced as an “enemy country”.
Mugabe was ultimately ousted by his own armed forces in November 2017.
JK/abj/APA