Michael Christopher Kijana Wamalwa was a prominent Kenyan politician who served as Vice President from 2002 until his death in 2003. Born in 1944 in Bungoma, he trained as a lawyer and became a vocal advocate for multiparty democracy in the 1990s. Wamalwa was one of the founding members of the Forum for the Restoration of Democracy (FORD) and later led the FORD Kenya faction. He served as Minister for Foreign Affairs before being named Mwai Kibaki's running mate in the 2002 election that ended KANU's 40 year rule. As Vice President, he championed constitutional reform and the rights of minority communities. Wamalwa fell ill in 2003 and traveled to London for medical treatment, where he died on August 23, 2003, becoming the first sitting Vice President to die in office. His death was mourned across Kenya, and he is remembered as a principled politician who prioritized national unity over ethnic politics.
See Also
Sources
- Murunga, Godwin R. "Kenya: The Struggle for Democracy." Zed Books, 2007.
- Throup, David and Charles Hornsby. "Multi Party Politics in Kenya." James Currey, 1998.
- Nation Media Group. "The Kijana Wamalwa Legacy." Daily Nation, August 2003.