Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki has sent a message of condolence to his Sudanese counterpart Omar Al- Bashir over the death of Sudan's First Vice President John Garang in a helicopter crash, Kenya's State House said in a statement on Monday.

"I join the rest of the world in expressing my loss and sorrow at the death of your First Vice President John Garang. On behalf of the government and the people of Kenya, and on my own behalf, I extend our heartfelt condolences to your Excellency personally, and through you, to the bereaved family, the government and the people of Sudan," Kibaki said.

The Kenyan president praised Garang's role in the Sudanese peace process, saying "over the years, his strategy increasingly shifted from military force to diplomacy. During the peace negotiations that were held in Kenya for over three years, Garang demonstrated remarkable negotiation skills and patience as well as incredible energy and readiness to make sacrifices."

The Kenyan government has worked closely with Garang in the negotiations that ended the over two decades of fighting in Sudan, said Kibaki, adding that the realization of a peace settlement that culminated in the swearing in of Garang as the First Vice President three weeks ago, was a victory for the people of Kenya as much as it was for the people of Sudan.

"Dr. Garang will be remembered for the role he played not only in the realization of peace but also in shaping the political future of the Sudan. I do appreciate that the new-found peace in Sudan was inextricably interwoven with the very person of Dr. Garang," said Kibaki.

"I, however, express the hope and optimism that every effort will be taken to ensure that the physical absence of Dr. Garang will not in any way jeopardize the gains made toward durable peace. Indeed, the consolidation of the peace is the greatest honor the people of Sudan can bestow on the departed soul," he added.

Garang, president of the southern Sudanese government and chairman of the Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement (SPLM), the main political force in southern Sudan, died in a helicopter crash in the remote area of southern Sudan on Saturday night.

He had been in Uganda to meet with President Yoweri Museveni. It's reported that Garang and his entourage left Museveni's ranch in the western Ugandan town of Rwakitura in a Ugandan government helicopter on Saturday during daylight but later encountered bad weather.

Garang, a former southern rebel leader who was sworn in as first vice president on July 9, played a key role in reaching the peace deal earlier this year, ending 21 years of civil war that killed more than two million people.

It was hoped that his role in the transitional government could help bring peace to other volatile regions in Sudan, including Darfur.

Analysts fear that his death will be a huge blow to the new Sudanese government and the future of peace in Sudan.

Source: Xinhua