Garissa Senator Yusuf Haji Passes Away in Nairobi

Garissa Senator Yusuf Haji has passed away aged 80 years.

Haji, a former long-serving provincial administrator, and Cabinet Minister died on Monday morning while undergoing treatment at the Aga Khan University Hospital in Nairobi.

He was the Chairperson of the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) Taskforce, which was formed following the historic March 9th, 2018 handshake between President Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga.

President Kenyatta has led the nation in mourning the death of Haji, who he eulogized as a dependable leader and patriot.

“It is very unfortunate that we have lost such a dependable, solid, and highly accomplished Kenyan leader. Mzee Haji was a highly respected leader and elder whose wisdom, deep knowledge of the Kenyan society, and long experience as a public administrator enabled him to serve the country in various leadership roles with distinction for many years,” Kenyatta said.

Haji joined the provincial administration in 1960 as a District Officer and rose through the ranks to become Provincial Commissioner between 1970 and 1997.

Haji retired in 1998 and was nominated to serve in the National Assembly the same year. In 2007, he was elected the MP for Ijara Constituency on a Kanu party ticket.

The deceased served as an Assistant Minister in the Office of the President under the Kibaki administration and later as Minister of Defense.

Before his demise, he was serving his second term as Garissa senator and leaves behind eight children, including Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Noordin Haji.

He will be laid to rest at Lang’ata Muslim cemetery at 4:00 pm on Monday.