President Kenyatta in Abu Dhabi to mourn late UAE President

President Uhuru Kenyatta on Monday delivered Kenya’s condolence message to His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates, at the Presidential Palace in Abu Dhabi following the death of his predecessor Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, 73, passed away on Friday, 13th May 2022 and was interred on the same day at the Al Bateen Cemetry within the Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed The First Mosque in Abu Dhabi.

Several world leaders, among them United States of America Vice President Kamala Harris and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge also delivered their condolence messages.

Sheikh Khalifa was president of the UAE since 2004, but his role had been largely ceremonial since he suffered a stroke in 2014.

As well as being president of the UAE, Sheikh Khalifa was also the ruler of Abu Dhabi, the oil-rich capital of the seven emirates which comprise the UAE.

The ministry of presidential affairs declared 40 days of mourning with flags at half-mast from Friday, and work suspended in the public and private sector for the first three days.

Sheikh Khalifa took over as the UAE’s second president in November 2004, succeeding his father as the 16th ruler of Abu Dhabi.

In the first decade of his rule, he presided over a major restructuring of both the federal government and that of Abu Dhabi.

But after his stroke, he was rarely seen in public, although he continued to issue rulings