President Uhuru Kenyatta has mourned former Japan Prime Minister Shinzō Abe as a dear friend and development ally of Kenya.
He took the opportunity to recall the former premier who was assassinated today by an unknown assailant.
He stated that “It is utter shocking and somewhat unbelievable to learn of the death of my friend, and one of Kenya’s foremost development ally, former Prime Minister Shinzō Abe, in a savage shooting incident.”
Abe retired in 2020, visited Nairobi in 2016 during the 6th TICAD conference, during which he held bilateral talks with President Kenyatta at State House, Nairobi.”
Abe was assassinated on Friday by a gunman who opened fire at close range as the hugely influential politician delivered a campaign speech.
The assassination of the 67-year-old, who had been Japan’s longest-serving leader, stunned the nation and prompted an international outpouring of grief and condemnation.
It was all the more shocking given Japan’s strict gun laws and low rates of violent crime, with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida describing it as a “barbaric act” that was “absolutely unforgivable.”
Abe was shot shortly before noon while campaigning in the western region of Nara ahead of weekend upper house elections.
He was flown by helicopter to the Nara Medical University hospital where he was pronounced dead several hours later.