Uhuru meets Bob Marley’s widow, Rita Marley – VIDEO
President Uhuru Kenyatta on Wednesday met the widow of reggae legend Bob Marley, Rita Marley at the launch of celebrations to mark the International Decade of People of African Descent in Kingston, Jamaica.
President Kenyatta, who was the chief guest at the event, said he was honoured to represent the African continent at the launch of the celebrations that coincide with the 400 year anniversary of the time ships carrying Africans first landed in the Americas.
Rita Marley is the founder and chairperson of the Robert Marley Foundation and Bob Marley Group of Companies, as well as the Rita Marley Foundation.
Rita has adopted 35 children in Ethiopia, the country where she wanted her late husband reburied, terming it as Bob Marley’s spiritual resting place.
She is also an awardee of the Order of Distinction by the Jamaican Government, 1996, and the Marcus Garvey Lifetime Award in 2010.
Uhuru was in the country to grace the 57th Independence Day.
During his tour in Jamaica, Uhuru said that Kenya shares cordial ties with the nation. He highlighted that he has several close relatives in Jamaica include his wife’s brother’s mother.
“The Prime Minister was telling me that Jamaican Diaspora is everywhere and almost every country on this earth so he was wondering if there is a Jamaican diaspora in Kenya and I told him yes I can confirm given the fact that my wife’s brother’s mother comes from Jamaica and she lives in Kenya and she has lived there all her life,” said Uhuru.
Rita Marley met and fell in love with Bob Marley in the mid-1960s and they married in 1966.
Following bob’s death, Rita converted Bob Marley’s home to a museum to honour her late husband.