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Kenya’s Longest-serving Leader Dies

Former President Daniel arap Moi, has died aged 95, after being in hospital for more than a month. The death of Moi, who ruled Kenya from 1978 to 2002, was announced by President Uhuru Kenyatta in a statement carried by the state broadcaster on Tuesday. Kenyatta ordered a period of national mourning until a state funeral is held, on a date not yet announced. Despite being called a dictator by critics, Moi enjoyed strong support from many Kenyans and was seen as a uniting figure when he took power after founding President Jomo Kenyatta died in office in 1978. By the time Moi left power in 2002, corruption had left Kenya’s economy, the most developed in East Africa, with negative growth. Kenyans later voted for a new constitution that was implemented in 2010. Moi often blamed the West for bad publicity and the economic hardships many Kenyans had to endure during his rule. As with his predecessor, Kenyatta, many government projects, buildings and currency notes and coins were named after Moi.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA

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