High praise for ex-president Moi as MPs hold special sitting

Members of Parliament eulogised former President Daniel arap Moi as a statesman who succeeded in holding the country together during a difficult time in the history of the continent, even as they called for forgiveness if the country has to move forward from its ugly past.

In emotional debates in the two chambers of Parliament, punctuated by a one-minute's silence, the lawmakers showered the fallen president with praises that sought to justify what others have called an iron-fisted rule.

They declared that he had left the country a better place than he found it.

At the Senate, Majority Leader Kipchumba Murkomen paid tribute to Moi, saying that under his 24-year rule, the full authority of the state had been felt across the country.

He added that Moi expanded education and gave people from marginalised areas a chance to access education.

“Going through his life history and considering the way he was humble, one gets the impression that this was a man called by God into leadership,” Mr Murkomen said.

“You may have an issue with the manner [in which] he handled the State, but he was not a tribalist. He believed in political parties,” he added, noting that Moi had remained a member of Kanu after he defected from Kadu in 1964.

DETENTION LAWS

He acknowledged that Moi was not infallible and may have committed mistakes during his long reign. He added, however, that the good he did far outweighed the bad.

Minority Leader James Orengo urged those who are living in denial on the legacy of the former president to abandon their anger and accept that Moi was human and study the context or the political environment in which he acted the way he did.

“We have to outgrow this tendency of seeing things through purely extremist lenses. There are people who see things as either black or white, in ethnic or religious lenses.” Moi, he argued, had worked hard to hold the country together.

Nyeri Senator Ephraim Maina rejected the notion that Moi had detained his opponents during his reign as a way of stifling dissent and instead blamed Parliament for having provided him with the tools that facilitated the detentions.

“Detention and a single-party system were not his creation. It was Parliament that enacted the detention laws and those making Kanu the only party. You can't blame him,” he said.

GOOD LEADERSHIP

Vihiga Senator George Khaniri also hailed Moi for having held the country together and ensuring that all Kenyan communities were included in his government.

Mandera Senator Mohamed Mohamud said the entire Northern Kenya region greatly benefited from Moi’s reign; that it was under his leadership that the region opened up.

National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale eulogised Moi as a statesman who greatly contributed to peace and stability not only in Kenya but also in the Horn of Africa.

“He talked about siasa mbaya, maisha mbaya (bad politics, bad life), which is a lesson to us politicians that we should not engage in endless politics at the expense of our people,” Mr Duale said.

“The former president sought forgiveness from anyone whom he may have wronged during his tenure, and as Christians, we may find it in our hearts to forgive him,” Suba North MP Milly Odhiambo said.

PEACEFUL HANDOVER

Nyando MP Jared Okelo said the former president did a lot of good things for the country. “As a human being he had his own imperfections, which we all do. May God put him where He deems fit,” he said.

“He sought forgiveness for those he had wronged; may his soul know peace as he rests,” said Rarieda MP Otiende Amollo.

Murang’a Woman Representative Sabina Chege urged the country to live the legacy of the former president and forgive each other.

Soy MP Caleb Kositany described the fallen leader as a tolerant and peaceful man who, in spite of insults from leaders and members of the public, handed over power peacefully to Mwai Kibaki in 2002.

Ugunja MP Opiyo Wandayi said Moi contributed a lot to the country during his reign as the president.

“I hope his death will herald a new political dispensation in this country,” Mr Wandayi said.

The National Assembly was expected to resume its normal business today after the long Christmas recess, but the lawmakers had a special sitting on Monday following the death of the country's second Head of State last Tuesday.

MPs postponed reopening of the House by two days to allow them to attend the burial of the former President on Wednesday.