“Not only was he an eminent leader for Kenya but also for East African countries. One thing I can remember is the political side; he was a gentleman and non-confrontational. He has gone out of the sight of Kenyans and EAC but not from the hearts,” said Victor Burikukiye, an EALA member from Burundi.
Rwandan member Fatuma Ndangiza said, “He will be remembered for free primary education because education is the key to development in the country. He contributed to the stabilisation of the country after the 2007 election violence. At the level of Rwanda and East Africa as a whole, we know he has contributed greatly to lay foundation to the two pillars customs union and common market protocol, and the joining of Rwanda and Burundi into the EAC.”
Kibaki served for many years as Kenya’s Minister for Finance and is regarded as instrumental in the implementation of economic policy in the East African Community (EAC).
He was instrumental in moving forward the agenda for the re-established EAC, signing the Customs Union Protocol in 2005 and the Common Market Protocol in 2009.
“There is no democracy without democrats, he understood the will of people to be safeguarded and never wanted to leave anyone behind. Mwai Kibaki is a true East African,” said George Odongo, EALA member from Uganda.
Kenya’s Adan Noor Mohamed added, “There is no doubt that we lost a leader, a father. Mwai Kibaki served as parliamentarian, minister, vice president and as a president. For Kenyans we lost an economist, a politician and a father...During his reign that’s when the torture chambers were closed.”
