Picture of former President Moi guard Leonard Yator Arap Chomber (left) . Yator died in an Eldoret hospital.
A former driver to three Kenyan Presidents, Leonard Yator, passed away, on Thursday, February 7, 2019, at the age of 87.
Yator, considered as the longest serving member of the Presidential Escort Unit served Former President Jomo Kenyatta before joining Daniel Moi’s team.
He joined the police service in 1952 while aged 20 years where he was deployed as a driver after completing training. Yator was a common figure in all presidential tours locally and abroad during retired President Daniel arap Moi’s era, his towering tall imposing figure faithfully standing guard a step away from the president.
According to family and friends, Yator succumbed to heart complications after he was admitted at a hospital in Eldoret.
Joining Jomo Kenyatta’s team, he had earlier revealed that he was assigned the duty of dropping the young Uhuru Kenyatta to and from school from their Gatundu home.
Before his retirement in 2000, the revered officer rose through the police ranks to become a senior superintendent. He served under presidential commanders Elijah Sumbeiywo, Charles Kimurgor, Stanley Kiptum Manyinya and Samson Cherambos.
“He was a special civil servant who was disciplined and trusted. We have lost one of the longest serving civil servants who was also honest in his service,” stated Cherambos.
Away from duty, Yator rarely spoke about his work.
“My father was conservative, spoke little, but loved his duties under retired President Moi,” said Rhoda Yator, his last born daughter.
Relatives and friends said he was such a stickler for details that at some point he chose to stitch his earlobes, which had been pieced in line with tradition, to avoid being sidetracked by curious bystanders while accompanying the president on local and international trips.
His two wives, Susan and Christine, and sister, Sarah Kosgei, described him as a family man who ensured his children received the best education and supported his extended family and neighbours.
“Yator was more than a husband. He was a very close friend. He ensured all-round protection for our family irrespective of his tight schedule in his security roles,” said Christine.
She described her husband as a close confidant of retired President Moi, whom he diligently served, first when he was vice president and later after he became president.
The only thing that Yator was averse to in the line of duty was politics. The career policeman believed he could serve better outside politics.
According to wife Christine, Yator died of heart complications at a hospital in Eldoret yesterday. He left two widows, seven children and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren