Amb Kiplagat dies in week of many sorrows

Kenya was on Friday thrown into mourning yet again after the passing on of former diplomat Bethuel Kiplagat.

Kiplagat also chaired the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission, which documented historical injustices against Kenyans.

His death came at a time when the country is still in a sombre mood after losing three prominent post-independence leaders – Laikipia Senator Godfrey Gitau Kariuki, Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaissery and former Cabinet minister Nicholas Biwott – in quick succession.

TREATMENT
Addressing the media at the Lee Funeral Home in Nairobi, Richard Kiplagat, the son to the late peace campaigner, said that his father lost the battle at about 5.15am while undergoing treatment at the Nairobi Hospital.

“Our father passed away peacefully in his sleep. We celebrate his life and what he has done not only for us as a family but for the country and the continent of Africa, and we are very proud of what he has been able to achieve.

“So now our focus is going to be plans and arrangements to lay him to rest and we will communicate further details in due course,” Mr Kiplagat said.

ENVOY
Retired President Daniel arap Moi joined the Kenyans mourning the demise of Kiplagat.

In his message of condolences to the family, Mr Moi said he received the news with shock and disbelief.

Ambassador Kiplagat served in President Moi’s government for 13 years from 1978 to 1991 as Kenya’s ambassador to France, high commissioner to Britain, and permanent secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

READ: Life and times of Bethuel Kiplagat

ILLNESS
Kiplagat, who died at the age of 80 after a long illness, had been in and out of a UK hospital since last year with family sources saying his health deteriorated in the last one month, leading to his death.

He is fondly remembered for spending most of his life as a peace crusader, campaigning for harmony in Kenya, East Africa and beyond.

He served as Kenya’s special envoy to the Somalia peace process from 2003 to 2005 and facilitated peace talks in Uganda in 1985.

PEACE

He also initiated and facilitated peace talks in Mozambique for four years between 1988 and 1992 and headed the board of the African Medical and Research Foundation from 1991 to 2003.

He was also a former chairman of the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC), a commission that looked into the past injustices committed in Kenya since independence.

However, his life was not far from controversy.

RIGHTS ABUSES
In 2010, Kiplagat resigned as the chairman of the TJRC after coming under investigation for alleged past human rights abuses, particularly his role in the 1984 Wagalla Massacre, but was reinstated in 2012 despite objections from other members of the commission.

His name featured in the TJRC report.

Kiplagat was also among senior government officials who responded to summons by the Ouko Commission of Inquiry, which was set up in 1991 to establish the cause of the mysterious death of Foreign Affairs minister Robert Ouko.

PATRIOT
In mourning him, Mr Moi described Ambassador Kiplagat as a patriotic Kenyan who gave the best of his abilities to the service of the nation.

He said humility and love for this country enabled ambassador Kiplagat to rise to the highest levels in the civil service and diplomacy.

He said the late Kiplagat will be remembered for many good things he undertook for the good of Kenya and its people.

He prayed to God to comfort the family during this time of his loss.