Nairobi, Aug 23: Kenya's Vice President Michael
Kijana Wamalwa died today in London, where he had been
hospitalised for several weeks, President Mwai Kibaki
said.
Wamalwa, 59, was being treated in the royal free
hospital in London when he died in the early hours of today,
Kibaki said in a statement issued by the presidential press
service.
A local independent television station said Wamalwa,
who was admitted to the hospital in June, suffered kidney
failure.
Kibaki said Kenya "had lost a patriot and a gentleman
who served his country with dedication to enhance the
democratic space." He said he had lost "a friend and comrade".
Wamalwa, a British-educated lawyer, was appointed
Vice President in January.
His appointment followed the success of the
opposition national rainbow coalition, lead by Kibaki,
against the long-ruling Kenya African National Union Party of
former President Daniel Arap Moi in presidential,
Parliamentary and local council elections held on December 27.
Bureau Report
