Uhuru opens up on his health challenges while mourning Frank Ireri

Former President Uhuru Kenyatta has lifted the lid on his health struggles while eulogizing former Housing Finance boss Frank Ireri who succumbed to cancer.

In an emotional reflection, Uhuru shared how Frank became a reliable support system as he navigated health challenges.

In an emotional speech in which he weighed his words while capturing the nature of their friendship as they faced health challenges, Uhuru recounted how Ireri who was more experienced became a source of support while bravely battling cancer before his demise.

“I don’t know whether I should say this but these are realities of life. In the last year and a good part of this year whenever we met he was very encouraging about some of the challenges that we were going through since he had more experience than some of us.

He was very encouraging in guiding and telling you how to look at this and how to handle some of these challenges in life, health and otherwise. He really held our hands and told us “don’t worry. This will come to pass. It will go”.

Without providing more details on the challenges, Uhuru reflected on the value of life, shared memories and challenges while noting that he will be content with the life he has lived when his time comes.

We trust in God and we believe that the reason Frank is lying here is because it is his time. For those of us who have those challenges we will continue fighting with them but equally when it is God’s time we shall join him and be thankful for the life that we lived and the times that we shared together.

Who was Frank Ireri

Frank Marangu Ireri who succumbed to cancer at the age of 63 was a veteran banker who shaped the industry in Kenya and beyond.

His transformational leadership as the Managing Director of Housing Finance saw him revolutionise the institution from a mortgage lender to a thriving full financial services company with diverse arms.

He exited the bank in 2018 on account of medical leave to seek specialised treatment.

Other highlights in his decorated career include serving as the chairperson of the board of Habitat for Humanity, a director at Centum Investment’s Centum Real Estate.

He also served in the board of Flame Tree Group well as Africa Operations Director for Barclays Kenya.

Ireri died on Sunday October 26, while receiving treatment at a Nairobi hospital.