(Bloomberg) -- Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta appointed Fred Matiang'i as acting interior secretary to replace Joseph Ole Nkaissery, who has died suddenly.
The replacement was named to avoid a vacuum in leadership as the country prepares to hold elections, Kenyatta said in a televised national address in the capital, Nairobi, on Saturday. Nkaissery, 67, died shortly after being admitted to a hospital in Nairobi, the presidency said in a separate statement.
“This death comes at a critical time in Kenya's history as we approach a general election,” Kenyatta said. “There shall be no vacuum in securing our country.”
Kenya holds presidential and other elections on Aug. 8. Voting in Kenya is a fractious time for investors because a dispute over the outcome of balloting in 2007 triggered two months of violence that left at least 1,100 people dead.
Matiang'i is currently the cabinet secretary for education.
To contact the reporter on this story: Paul Richardson in Nairobi at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Paul Richardson at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net.
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