The United States Embassy in Kenya will be closed tomorrow Thursday, January 9.
The Embassy will be closed for the National Day of Mourning for former President Jimmy Carter.
“In observance of the National Day of mourning for former President Jimmy Carter, the U.S. Embassy will be closed on Thursday, January 9, 2025,” a statement by the Embassy on Wednesday read.
Former US Carter died on December 29, 2024, in Plains, Georgia, surrounded by family.
Carter served as the 39th president from 1977 until 1981. He was aged 100, making him the longest-lived president in US history.
During his tenure as president Carter faced a spate of foreign policy challenges and the Democrat was defeated in his re-election bid by Ronald Reagan.
Last year it was announced that he would receive hospice care at home, following the end of his medical treatment.
Carter had been suffering health issues, including a melanoma that spread to his liver and brain.
He is survived by his four children: Jack, Chip, Jeff and Amy, along with 11 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.
He was predeceased by his wife of 77 years, Rosalynn Smith Carter, who passed away on 19 November last year, and one grandchild, the Carter Center says.
His humanitarian efforts earned him the Nobel Peace Prize after his time in office.
The former president was born on 1 October 1924 as James Earl Carter Jr, in the small town of Plains, Georgia. He was the eldest of four children. His father ran a family peanut business, and his mother, Lillian, was a registered nurse.
In high school, he was a star basketball player and then spent seven years in the US Navy – during which time he married Rosalynn.
Carter was reportedly devastated when he had to resign from the US Navy when his father died in 1953, and he was forced to run the family’s struggling farm. But he managed to turn the business around, becoming quite wealthy in the process.
President William Ruto termed Former President Carter as “an extraordinary leader whose dedication to public service was epic.”
He said Carter was a powerful champion for global peace and human rights.
by PERPETUA ETYANG
