Uhuru declares four days of mourning for Queen Elizabeth
Queen Elizabeth II greets President Uhuru Kenyatta in the Blue Drawing Room at Buckingham Palace, London, as she hosts a dinner during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting on April 19, 2018.
President Uhuru Kenyatta has declared four days of national mourning following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
In a presidential order issued today, Mr Kenyatta said the period of mourning will start on Friday and end Monday evening, during which flags in Kenya will fly at half mast.
"In honour of the life and times of the late Queen, and on behalf of a nation that will forever hold Queen Elizabeth II in a special place in our individual and collective hearts; I, Uhuru Kenyatta do hereby order and direct that Kenya will observe a period of national mourning from today until sunset on Monday, 12th September, 2022," he said.
Uhuru praised Queen Elizabeth as a close friend of Kenya and the lifeblood of the Commonwealth.
"Her 70-year reign covered the pre-independence era, the granting of self-governance, the Cold War, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and all the other seminal events leading to the present day. In all that, as governments rose and fell, new nations were born, and the geopolitical sands shifted back and forth; Queen Elizabeth II remained our one constant and an unshakeable rock of dedication to duty, grace, sacrifice, public service, and the commitment to God, Country, and Family," he said.
Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-serving monarch in British history, died aged 96, Buckingham Palace said on Thursday. Her eldest son, Charles, 73, succeeds as king immediately, according to centuries of protocol.
She was dogged by health problems since last October that have left her struggling to walk and stand.
