•Uhuru said he received the sad news of the passing on of Queen Elizabeth II with great sorrow and a deep sense of loss.
•Ruto said the queen's leadership was something to look up to.
Image: BBC
President Uhuru Kenyatta and President-elect William Ruto have joined other world leaders in mourning Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
The queen died on Thursday at her Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
Uhuru, in his message of condolence and comfort to His Majesty King Charles III, the Royal Family, Prime Minister Liz Truss and the British people, he mourned the 96-year-old monarch as a towering global icon of selfless service to humanity.
“Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was a towering icon of selfless service to humanity and a key figurehead of the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth of Nations, where Kenya is a distinguished member and the entire world,” he said.
Uhuru said he received the sad news of the passing on of Queen Elizabeth II with great sorrow and a deep sense of loss.
He said the Kenyans and the government stands in solidarity with the Royal Family, the United Kingdom and the world in mourning the departed monarch.
Uhuru recalled Kenya's close ties with Queen Elizabeth II saying the longest-serving monarch in British history took over from her father, King George VI. He died while she was on safari in Kenya.
Queen Elizabeth II, the full name Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor, ascended to the throne and became Queen in 1952 aged 25 years.
She celebrated her platinum jubilee this year to mark 70 years of her reign.
Ruto said the queen's leadership was something to look up to.
“I have received news of the death of Queen Elizabeth II and I send condolences to the people of the United Kingdom. The queen’s leadership of the Commonwealth for the past seven decades is admirable,” he said.
Ruto said the queen steered the institution’s evolution into a forum for effective multilateral engagement whose potential to drive tremendous socioeconomic progress, remains incontestable and redounds to the Queen’s historic legacy.
“We will miss the cordial ties she enjoyed with Kenya and may her memories continue to inspire us. We join the Commonwealth in mourning and offer our condolences to the Royal Family and the United Kingdom,” he said.