The mid-air plot to block Moi succession — and the day Mzee had the last laugh

• In this first excerpt of an illuminating autobiography by Njenga Karume entitled, ‘Beyond Expectations: From Charcoal to Gold’, published by Kenway Publications, an imprint of EAEP, the pioneer African businessman recalls his role in the infamous bid to cut off Vice President Moi from power

When Kenyatta agreed to the formation of GEMA, I doubt that he knew what a force GEMA would become. I say this because I personally witnessed a time when Kenyatta became quite uncomfortable with the influence of the organisation and even rebuked its leaders, telling them to stop imagining that they were the government.

He thought of GEMA as a cultural movement and allowed its formation in order to retain the support of his lieutenants. Whatever the case, he permitted its creation and subsequent events were virtually beyond his control.

GEMA was registered under the Societies Act in a single day by the then Attorney General, Charles Mugane Njonjo, who was acting under the instructions of Kenyatta. However Njonjo later came to intensely detest the movement. He never attended GEMA meetings nor did he want to see his name associated with it in any way. In general, we have had a somewhat cold relationship over the years.

Meanwhile, the organisation had managed to take control of Central Province and Nairobi politics and all the MPs who had won in the 1974 General Elections in those areas were backed by GEMA. Furthermore, other GEMA officials and I were very close to the President.

Overwhelmingly strong

Little by little, GEMA was becoming an overwhelmingly strong and influential body and this caused alarm and concern in certain circles. I, as the Chairman, had just become a nominated MP, but to some people it seemed that I had more power than many high-level government officials.
The tribal exclusivity was also making many outsiders uncomfortable.

Kenyatta was also growing older, and many people outside GEMA’s inner circle felt that the organisation was an impediment to the eventual Kenyatta succession. Complaints and grumbling grew and opposition to GEMA’s insidious power was becoming more and more obvious.

One of the factors that made GEMA hated among other communities was that it took its slogan of Kuuga na Gwika (words with action) to the extreme. Other tribes and tribal organisations had watched GEMA buy thousands of acres of land, a large clay industry, and saw its membership soar to hundreds of thousands of registered and active members.

Among all the other critics, there were two people to whom the whole concept and existence of GEMA was an abomination. These anti-GEMA individuals were Daniel arap Moi, the Vice President, and Charles Njonjo, the Attorney General. To my mind, Charles Njonjo was an arrogant and self-conceited fellow who felt that he was intellectually superior to all those who were close to Kenyatta.

Charles Njonjo was the son of Josiah Njonjo, a colonial chief, and as such he had been born into a privileged childhood. He had attended the best schools and attained a law degree from Fort Hare University in South Africa. He then proceeded to England for his pupilage before coming back to Kenya. Kenyatta appointed him to the post of Attorney General shortly after Independence and since his appointment, he carried on in a supercilious and haughty manner, ignoring or sneering at those who did not agree with his ideas.

All those who knew him describe him as an ambitious man who had the aspiration of becoming the President upon the death of Jomo Kenyatta. He was close to the President, who was somewhat of a father figure to him, and Njonjo would never contradict Kenyatta openly. But once out of the President’s vicinity, he made no secret of his opinion that Kenyatta was surrounded by idiotic advisors.

Then there was Moi, a loyal Vice President to Kenyatta and who was, according to the Constitution, supposed to be the successor, should
Kenyatta die. Moi served loyally, never disagreeing with his boss, and he was a patient man who knew his time would eventually come. After all, he had willingly made a sacrifice and dissolved his party, KADU, in order to join KANU and support Kenyatta.

Despite being a Kikuyu, there was no love lost between Njonjo and GEMA. He especially loathed Mwai Kibaki, a graduate of the London School of Economics who was now the Minister for Finance. Kibaki was the favoured intellectual among GEMA leaders and he carried out his job as expected and did not engage in petty politics.

But Njonjo feared Kenyatta. He knew that those who had shown the slightest bit of insolence or contempt to Kenyatta had done it at their own peril. Njonjo therefore befriended Moi, probably believing that he would be able to manipulate him and the law, when the right time came. And given Kenyatta’s age by the mid 1970s, the time was not far off.

However, Njonjo underrated the power of GEMA, as he discovered