President Uhuru Pays Tribute to Kenya's Renowned Harvard Scholar Professor Caleoustus Juma

President Kenyatta has mourned Kenyan born Harvard lecturer Professor Caleoustus Juma, describing him as a distinguished academician and patriot.

The Havard don, who hails from Nyanza passed on while receiving treatment in Boston, Massachusetts. His death comes barely days after he buried his mother.

In a statement on Friday Uhuru said: "I learned of the death of Professor Calestous Juma with profound dismay."

"He served as its Executive Director until 1995, when he left to take up the position of Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity in Montreal," the president said in a statement to the media.

He said: "Those who had the pleasure of meeting him — or communicating with him online and off — will testify to his warmth, his love of learning, and his great generosity."

"We will miss him. I am grateful for his life; and I pray that God, who has called Professor Juma to himself, will comfort his family and grant them the grace and courage to endure the loss," the president said.

Opposition leader Raila Odinga hailed Juma as “a distinguished scholar who helped build the country’s profile across the globe.”

"We pray for and mourn with his family, students and the entire Harvard University fraternity,” the opposition chief said.

Rwanda President Paul Kagame in his message of condolences described the scholar as “a brilliant mind who was dedicated to innovation, education and Africa's prosperity.”

"Condolences to his family and friends. May he rest in peace,” he said via his official Twitter page.