Kibaki was at the bedside when his precious Lucy died
Former President Mwai Kibaki, his daughter Judy and son Anthony were at Lucy Kibaki’s bedside when she died at about 4am.
“Mama Lucy Kibaki, the former First Lady and wife of Kenya’s third President Mwai Kibaki passed on early this morning at the Bupa Cromwell Hospital in London. We shall keep you informed as further arrangements concerning this matter evolve,” said a statement by Dr Ngare Gituku, the retired President’s spokesman.
FLY BODY HOME
Dr Gituku said consultations were ongoing for preparations to fly her body back to the country from London for a State funeral.
“Not much is coming from London but people are putting their heads together because of the enormity of the task ahead,” he said.
Mrs Kibaki was admitted in intensive care at the Nairobi Hospital on March 11, 2016. Ten days later, her daughter Judy said that the former First Lady was responding well to treatment.
“She is improving,” she told journalists without elaborating.
Speaking about the admission to hospital, Dr Gituku allayed fears that she was in ICU and described it as a routine check-up “the kind that your mother and my mother would routinely need to undergo from time to time”.
At the time, the hospital invoked doctor/patient confidentiality and declined to divulge any information on the status of Mrs Kibaki’s health.
PROTOCOL
On Tuesday, it came to light that even though the first call informing the family of Mrs Kibaki’s death came in at 7am, the family waited for President Kenyatta to break the sad news at 11.38 am in line with protocol regarding a former First Lady.
“It was only fair because the State was directly involved, that we leave it to them to make the announcement. There was a sense of protocol to be considered,” said a family source.
President Kenyatta said the death of Mrs Kibaki was a big loss to the country and listed the projects she championed, among them the fight against HIV/Aids.
Mrs Kibaki has not been seen in public for over five years due to ill health although there was no clear indication of what she was suffering from.
Her last public function was on August 27, 2010 during the promulgation of the Constitution.