Charles Njonjo: ‘The Duke of Kabeteshire’ Dies Aged 101

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 2- Former Attorney General Charles Njonjo is dead.

His death was announced by President Uhuru Kenyatta in a statement, saying he died on Sunday morning at 5 am. He was aged 101.

Njonjo was the only surviving member of Kenya’s independence Cabinet.

“The passing away of Hon. Njonjo is a big blow not only to his immediate family, friends, and relatives but to all Kenyans and indeed, the entire African continent because of his leading role in the founding of the Kenyan nation at independence,” President Kenyatta said in a statement on Sunday.

He said Kenya owe a debt of gratitude to the late Njonjo, “and his generation of independence era leaders for their selfless contribution to the laying of the solid foundation upon which our country continues to thrive.”

In his condolence message, the President said Kenya’s progressive constitutional and legal regime owes its robustness to Njonjo’s “splendid work when he served as the country’s first post-independence Attorney General.”

He was an Attorney General between 1963 and 1979, and also served as a Constitutional Affairs Minister between 1980 and 1983.

“On behalf of the Kenyan nation, my family, and on my own behalf, I send deepest and heartfelt condolences to the family, friends and relatives of Hon. Njonjo, and indeed all Kenyans,” the President said.

“May God the Almighty grant each one of us grace and fortitude as we mourn and come to terms with the passing away of Hon. Charles Mugane Njonjo who was not only our national hero but an icon of Kenya’s progress through the years.”