Former Vice President Moody Awori has revealed that retired President Mwai Kibaki was overcome with grief upon the death of his deputy, Michael Kijana Wamalwa.
In his memoir, Riding on a Tiger, VP Awori revealed that President Kibaki had a very strong affection for his then Vice President, Kijana Wamalwa.
Awori stated that when Kibaki learned of VP Wamalwa’s demise at Great North Hospital in London where he had been admitted, he was very distraught.
He noted that Wamalwa’s death was President Kibaki’s personal grief and in all the years he had known him, he had never seen him show emotion.
“In all the years I had known Mwai Kibaki, I had never seen him show emotion,
“But on that day, tears for Michael Kijana Wamalwa trickled freely down the President’s face,” stated Awori.
The VP highlighted that President Kibaki had offered to send his official plane to transport Wamalwa's body from London, but due to the logistics of the fact that it was a military plane (requiring special clearance over other countries’ airspace), they resorted to the national carrier, Kenya Airways.
Awori pointed out that when Wamalwa’s body accompanied by his widow and their five-year-old daughter arrived at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), there was an overwhelming atmosphere of sadness.
In his memoir, Awori also added that there was a huge crowd, led by the President who announced that there would be a state funeral for Wamalwa, as the whole country went into mourning.
Awori further revealed that Wamalwa’s body lay in state at Parliament buildings for public viewing and when the funeral was held at Wamalwa’s farm in Kitale, the mood was sombre.
