Military

DATE= 8/23/03

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT (L-ONLY)

TITLE= KENYA/V-P DEATH

NUMBER=2-306770

BYLINE= CATHY MAJTENYI

DATELINE= NAIROBI

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: Kenyan Vice President Michael Kijana Wamalwa died Saturday while undergoing treatment in a London hospital. Cathy Majtenyi reports from Nairobi that Kenyans are shocked and saddened by his death.

TEXT: Kenyans expressed condolences on radio phone-in shows and street corners alike as word spread of the 59-year-old vice-president's death.

A presidential statement did not give the cause of Mr. Wamalwa's death. He had been admitted to a London hospital two months ago suffering from gout and kidney problems.

Mr. Wamalwa was named vice-president of the National Rainbow Coalition government (N-A-R-C) shortly after last December's election. N-A-R-C was formed when a dozen political parties merged to end 24 years of rule by former President Daniel Arap Moi.

Mr. Wamalwa, who came from western Kenya, was the leader of the political party FORD-Kenya before it merged with the other parties. According to Kenya's Minister of Roads, Raila Odinga, Mr. Wamalwa was the key unifying force behind the coalition's formation.

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His passing away is a big loss to our movement, the National Rainbow Coalition. His was like a stabilizing factor in the movement. He enriched the intellectual debate about (the) condition of our society, unifying the country in spite of our various cultural differences, what you'd call unity in diversity.

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President Mwai Kibaki's says funeral arrangements for the vice president have not been finalized. (Signed)

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