This is a very sad time for our country. We mourn the passing on of Amb Bethuel Kiplagat, an eminent leader and consummate diplomat in our country and continent.
I am privileged to have interacted extensively with the late Amb Kiplagat and to have acquired first hand professional insights through his tireless efforts to raise Kenya’s profile internationally and to champion the noble course of peace in our nation, the East African Community and Africa as a whole.
My initial contact with the late Amb. Kiplagat was at Kenya’s Foreign Ministry where he had an outstanding 13 years career from 1978 to 1991.
He served as Kenya's Ambassador to France (1978-1981), High Commissioner to the United Kingdom (1981-1983), and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation between 1983 and 1991.
His tenure at the Ministry coincided with the so-called ‘lost decade’ for Africa - a period in which there was widespread misconceptions about Africa; then regarded as a hopeless continent. These perceptions at the global level resulted in diminished international engagement with Africa.
This difficult period was followed by the wave of democratization that swept across Africa following the implosion of communism in the late 1980s and shortly thereafter by the rise of neoclassical economics.
These latter developments demanded both political and economic liberalization in Africa which presented immense challenges for African nations in their engagements at the international arena.
Navigating International Relations at this time was therefore a considerable challenge, demanding creativity, hard work and sufficient enterprise. Unmatched in his creativity, insight and drive, the late Amb. Kiplagat was equal to the task.
A dynamic leader and team worker, he was instrumental in the introduction of strategic approaches and fresh perspectives in the conduct of Kenya’s diplomatic relations. This ushered in a new assertive and progressive profile for Kenya on the world stage.
His efforts helped to raise Kenya’s diplomatic posture internationally and expand our engagements at the bilateral and multilateral levels.
The continued deepening of this agenda has today availed remarkable benefits to the conduct of Kenya’s foreign policy and leadership on regional and multilateral issues.
An effective negotiator, the late Ambassador also had an impressive career as a peacemaker who contributed immensely to peace initiatives and processes in Africa.
He served in various peace engagements in Africa including as Kenya’s Special Envoy to the Somalia Peace Process from 2003 to 2005; Chairman of the IGAD Technical Committee on Somali National Reconciliation Conference and resource person to the IGAD Peace Process for Sudan and advisor to Sudanese civil society on conflict resolution.
During the Second Sudanese civil war between 1989 and 2005, Amb. Kiplagat was instrumental in facilitating Operation Lifeline Sudan, the largest ever coordinated humanitarian effort that allowed actors to supply assistance to critically war and drought stricken areas in the South of the country.
This intervention was operated from Lokichogio, a town 30kms from the Kenya-South Sudan border.
Although the OLS commenced in 1989 after consistent deliberations within the international community, during his tenure as Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Amb Kiplagat had led efforts to facilitate humanitarian interventions in the Sudan as early as 1985.
In fact, the Government of Kenya under his advice and the leadership of former President Daniel Arap Moi had facilitated cross-border efforts by private entities from Kenya to Sudan.