Moi’s longtime physician Dr David Silverstein is dead

By  Manase Otsialo

Correspondent

What you need to know:

• KANU chairman Gideon Moi described Dr Silverstein as a doctor who left a lasting impression on those he treated.
• President Ruto eulogised Dr Silverstein as a distinguished medical practitioner whose service had a lasting impact on Kenya.

Dr David Silverstein, the American cardiologist who served for decades as former President Daniel arap Moi’s personal physician, has died aged 82.

Kenya African National Union (KANU) chairman Gideon Moi announced Dr Silverstein’s death on Sunday morning, describing him as a doctor who left a lasting impression on those he treated and praising his attention to detail and empathy.

President William Ruto also mourned the death of the longtime physician to the late retired President Moi, describing Dr Silverstein as a distinguished medical practitioner whose service had a lasting impact on Kenya.

President Ruto said Dr Silverstein made pioneering contributions to the advancement of medicine, particularly cardiology, touching countless lives and helping shape the practice of modern medicine in Kenya.

“Dr Silverstein leaves behind a distinguished legacy of service to our nation,” President Ruto said.

Dr Silverstein was known for his long service as Moi’s personal physician and was among the prominent doctors associated with the former President’s medical care.

He first treated Moi in 1977, when he was Vice-President and remained his personal physician for 42 years, until Moi’s death in February 2020.

Gideon Moi, the former President’s son, said the relationship between the Moi family and Dr Silverstein developed beyond that of doctor and patient into a close friendship.

In a statement, Mr Moi said Dr Silverstein had left a lasting impression on those he treated, praising his attention to detail and empathy.

“Dr Silverstein left a lasting impression on those he treated, and we witnessed firsthand his attention to detail and empathy,” Mr Moi said.

He said Dr Silverstein viewed his responsibility to Mzee Moi as more than a doctor-patient relationship, taking time to listen, understand and care for the former president.

“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.

Dr Silverstein first met Moi at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) in 1977, when the latter was serving as Vice-President. He was appointed the President’s personal physician in 1983 and held the position for several decades.

Born in Chicago in 1944, Dr Silverstein arrived in Kenya in 1974 after completing his medical training in the United States.

He joined the University of Nairobi Medical School, where he helped establish and run an early cardiac catheterisation laboratory at KNH.

He went on to head the hospital’s cardiology unit and taught generations of medical students.

In 1977, he was appointed chief cardiothoracic physician for the Government of Kenya. He later moved to The Nairobi Hospital, where he continued practising medicine and became widely recognised for his contribution to cardiology in Kenya.

Dr Silverstein came to Kenya through Dr Ashvin Patel, whom he had met while at the University of Washington.

In his memoir, Heartbeat: An American Cardiologist in Kenya, Dr Silverstein wrote that he had initially wished to settle in Israel but was persuaded by a friend to come to Kenya. He immediately applied for a teaching position at the University of Nairobi’s School of Medicine, where a new cardiac catheterisation laboratory was being established.

Dr Silverstein said he was attracted by the prospect of a stable career in which he could work his way to the top of his chosen profession.

In the book, he recalled how his arrival in Kenya, when he stepped onto the cracked tarmac at Nairobi’s Embakasi Airport, dispelled his misconception of Africa as a “dark continent”, an image he said had been taught to him in America.

“Nairobi was a fledgling metropolis with a population of less than a million. It was 1800 meters above sea level and lushly verdant,” Dr Silverstein wrote.

He said he found the city much quieter in those days, with uniformed policemen in white gloves directing traffic from raised podiums at roundabouts.

“They looked as if they were calling on each section of the orchestra to perform. Some of the streets in the suburbs were unpaved. Many walked or rode bicycles while some people drove donkey carts,” he wrote.

Before Dr Silverstein’s arrival, Kenya had neither a cardiac catheterisation laboratory nor a fully trained cardiologist, according to his memoir.

His work at KNH helped establish the foundations of modern cardiology in the country, while his teaching influenced generations of doctors.

Beyond his role as Moi’s physician, Dr Silverstein became one of the doctors associated with the development of cardiology in Kenya, combining clinical practice with teaching and specialist care.

President Ruto said his contribution had touched countless lives and helped shape modern medicine in the country.

“His pioneering contribution to the advancement of medicine, particularly cardiology, touched countless lives and helped shape the practice of modern medicine in Kenya,” said President Ruto.

Dr Silverstein is survived by his wife, Channa Commanday, and their four sons. The cause and exact date of his death have not been publicly disclosed.

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