Monday, October 13, 2014
Renowned Kenyan scholar Ali Alamin Mazrui passed away Monday morning in Binghamton, New York, in the United States.
Prof Mazrui passed away at the age of 81 and family members say he was not well for several months.
Muslims for Human Rights (Muhuri) chairperson Mr Khelef Khalifa said the body of Prof Mazrui will be flown to Kenya for burial.
“His nephew, Alamin Mazrui, has confirmed that the professor’s wish was to be buried in Kenya,” he said.
Prof Mazrui was born on February 24, 1933, in Mombasa.
At the time of his death, he was a professor at Binghamton University in New York.
President Uhuru Kenyatta sent his message of condolence to the family of the late Mazrui, whom he described as a “a towering academician whose intellectual contributions played a major role in shaping African scholarship”.
The President said Prof Mazrui was one of the greatest scholars Kenya and the continent have ever produced.
“Am deeply saddened by the passing on of the professor. Indeed, death has robbed us of one of Kenya’s greatest scholars,” President Kenyatta said.
President Kenyatta said Prof. Mazrui’s literary works, debates and relentless cultivation of a global view of Africa have helped to tell the continent’s story.
Prof Mazrui is a renowned scholar worldwide, having lectured in five continents and written 30 books. He once served as chancellor of Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology.
He is survived by a wife and six children.