Uhuru leads Kenyans in bidding Mwai Kibaki farewell in elaborate event

President Uhuru Kenyatta has led Kenyans to bid the late, retired President Mwai Kibaki farewell at the state funeral held on Friday at the Nyayo Stadium in Nairobi.

Uhuru was delivering his speech on Friday during the Kibaki’s state funeral service at the Nyayo Stadium, where he said Kibaki’s loss was incalculable.

He said the late Kibaki was a man a family man and a man of faith who had the interest of the nation and its citizens at heart.

"We are here to not only to mourn an incalculable loss but also to celebrate a magnificent life. We celebrate a man of faith, a man of family a man of honour and a man who always put Kenya and Kenyans first," Uhuru said.

Uhuru said that even though Kibaki has passed away, his service to the nation will not rest until the last mile of his vision for the country is complete.

He saluted Kibaki for his role in efforts in the journey for Kenya’s independence as he was among the leading architects of current Kenya.

Uhuru honoured the late Kibaki as one of the last standing heroes of Kenya’s independence and the implementor of the last chapters of the nation’s founding fathers’ vision.

“As one of the last standing heroes of our independence struggles he had a special calling to execute the last chapters of the vision of our founding fathers and he did this with surgical precision and a total disregard for what the naysayers thought of him,” Uhuru said.

“He finished the last mile of our founding vision as a nation, but he did not stop there. He helped us lay the foundation upon which future generations hall also build.”

Uhuru remembered Kibaki as a modest man who shied away from the limelight and fulfilled his purpose out of the glare of the public.

“President Kibaki was by all means was a modest man and did not believe in loud-shouting. When the limelight was shone on him, he tended to be coy and hide and this is because he found virtue and joy by doing ordinary things that fulfilled his promise and purpose,” Uhuru said.

“He knew he could not fulfil his purpose in the presence of cheering crowds and he had to do this in the privacy of his space and his desire to contribute, to transform our country Kenya in his quiet and secluded space with no one watching, is what makes him a legend and a man of purpose.”

Uhuru also said that the light President Kibaki lit will never flicker out because his torch continues in the lives of millions. He added that as Kenya mourns his passing; the citizens are reminded that it would be a tragedy if what he left behind dies in the hearts and memories of Kenyans.

In his speech, Uhuru also termed Kibaki as one of the greatest African statesmen of his generation.

“On this day, President Mwai Kibaki’s enduring legacy illuminates our nation and our great African continent, placing him as one of the greatest African statesmen of his generation,” the president said.