Interesting details have emerged on an incident where iconic South African leader Nelson Mandela secretly visited Kenya, got treated by former President Daniel Moi's doctor and flew back to South Africa.
This less-known visit to Kenya occurred in April 1990, after Mandela fell sick during an official trip to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
In Kalonzo Musyoka's autobiography, Against All Odds, the former vice president discloses that Mandela made an urgent stop in Nairobi and it was Moi's doctor who personally treated him.
“I had gone to State House for a meeting with Moi. Before we could even start our meeting, Moi received information that was rather urgent. He told me: ‘Forget the meeting. Mandela is very sick, he is coming and I don’t want any media or cameras. We must organise for his hospitalisation,” Kalonzo records.
The Wiper Party leader continues and states that they immediately drove to the Jomo Kenyatta Airport with Moi and medical staff only in the absence of journalists or any other person.
“There was a stretcher and other medical equipment in an ambulance. I expected to see Mandela wheeled out of the plane. To our surprise, he walked out of his plane; tall, majestic but looking frail. He was escorted to the Nairobi Hospital where he was attended to by Moi’s personal physician, Dr David Silverstein.
"He did not stay at the hospital for long. I think Dr Silverstein just attended to him and monitored him overnight. The following day, he was driven back to the airport and flew back to South Africa. Once again, there was no fanfare,” Kalonzo says in his book.
After leaving, the late Mandela later made a trip to Nairobi in July the same year his sole intention being to see the grave of the Mau Mau’s legendary leader, Field Marshall Dedan Kimathi.
During his visit to Nairobi, Mandela praised the heroes who fought tirelessly to ensure Kenya got independence and urged Moi to recognise them.
“In my 27 years of imprisonment, I always saw the images of fighters such as Kimathi, China and others as candles in my long and hard war against injustice. It is an honour for any freedom fighter to pay respect to such heroes,'' Mandela said at Moi International Sports Kasarani.
The iconic leader, who inspired many across the world owing to his leadership skills and relentless fight for African liberation, passed on in December 2013 after suffering from a prolonged respiratory infection.
