Late Daniel Moi's Personal Doctor Is Dead

Dr David Silverstein, the long-serving personal physician to retired President the late Daniel arap Moi, has died, his family and the Moi family have confirmed.

His death was announced on Sunday, September 13, though further details surrounding the circumstances of his passing were yet to be made public.

KANU chairman and former Baringo senator Gideon Moi, speaking on behalf of the Moi family, eulogised the cardiologist as a man whose compassion went far beyond the confines of medicine.

"It is with deep sorrow that we mourn the passing of Dr David Silverstein, the long serving personal physician to the late retired President H.E. Mzee Daniel arap Moi," Gideon said.

He described the late doctor's approach to his father's health as one defined by dignity and genuine care.

"To him, Mzee Moi was not merely a client. He was a human being whose health, dignity and wellbeing mattered deeply to him," he said.

According to the forner senator, the late Silverstein's warmth was not reserved for the former president alone but extended to all who came under his care.

"He took time to listen, understand and care, bringing warmth to his practice of medicine. This was the same humanity and compassion he extended to everyone under his care," Gideon stated.

Gideon further passed his condolences to the Silverstein family, singling out the late doctor's widow.

"On behalf of the Moi family, I extend our heartfelt condolences to his family, led by his beloved wife Channa Commanday. We are deeply grateful to them for allowing Dr Silverstein to walk with Mzee Moi throughout his journey of health," he said.

"His care and friendship will always be remembered with gratitude. May God grant him eternal rest and give his family the fortitude to bear this great loss," he added.

Dr Silverstein, a renowned cardiologist with over 45 years of experience in Kenya, held an MD from the University of Chicago and completed his internal medicine residency and cardiology fellowship at the University of Washington.

He was a Fellow of both the American College of Cardiology (FACC) and the American College of Physicians (FACP), and is credited with pioneering the establishment of the region's first cardiac catheterisation laboratory.

His relationship with the Moi family dated back to 1977, when he examined Moi, then vice president, at Kenyatta National Hospital.

Moi formally appointed him as his personal physician in 1983, a role Silverstein held for the next 37 years, through the entirety of Moi's presidency between 1978 and 2002 and beyond, until the former president's death in February 2020.

Silverstein served the Moi family for 42 years.

He is survived by his wife, Channa Commanday.