When President Moi was pushed into a tight corner

On the political front, Moi was facing open defiance from an increasingly bold pro-reform movement whose numbers were boosted by the arrival of former Kanu politicians like Kenneth Stanley Njindo Matiba and Charles Rubia.

On the July 7, 1990, riots erupted in Nairobi when pro-democracy activists attempted to hold a rally in defiance of a government ban. Many people were arrested in the heavy-handed crackdown that followed.

Subsequent protests became larger in scale and determined in spirit. And Moi, who was once described by the late Oginga Odinga as a giraffe that can see far, came to the realisation that multipartism was an unstoppable cause.

“The good thing with Moi is that he knew when to change. He would listen to the people. When agitation reached its peak, he would change direction even if not completely,” says politician Martha Karua.

“Moi could tell when people are hostile,” recalls Muthaura, while Dr Leakey believes Moi caved in to pressure: “Moi’s fear was life after office… he had absolute paranoia about certain people,” he says.

It is the transition to multipartyism that brought out the best in Moi’s survival instincts. Much of the country, particularly in major towns, was firmly against Moi and Kanu, but he survived the 1992 election because the divided opposition fielded many candidates and split its own vote.

But the 1990s were also a tough time for Moi on both the diplomatic and the financial fronts. His cash-strapped, corruption-ridden government was no longer viewed favourably in Western capitals, and donors were turning off their taps. To keep the country afloat, Moi accepted the Structural Adjustment Progammes prescribed by the World Bank and the IMF, and to demonstrate his commitment Moi drafted in the globally recognised wildlife conservation champion Richard Leakey to head the civil service that now included technocrats from the private sector who were dubbed the Dream Team.

“He felt I had convinced the donors to turn off donor taps,” says Dr Leakey.

But the Dream Team could not survive for long because of its own attempt to touch corruption which was Kanu’s equivalent of the Biblical fruit in the centre of the garden of Aden.

“We had planned to arrest or at best, indict 11 Cabinet ministers on corruption charges; the president said no, that’s too many. He said ministers were essential to his survival because of balancing power,” says Leakey.

He would tell Dr Leakey that he didn’t understand Africa.

The differences were irreconcilable, and Dr Leakey had to go.

“Both had very strong personalities. None of them would back down,” says Dr Sally Kosgei who was the head of the Civil Service then.

With the Dream Team gone and the war on corruption lost, Moi shifted his energies to managing the oncoming transition. His final five years of a 24-year-term were coming to an end in 2002, and Moi stormed the political scene with schemes to perpetuate Kanu’s rule beyond his term. As part of this scheme, Moi did the unthinkable; forging an alliance with Raila Odinga – a bitter opponent he had detained for eight years.

“We had gone full cycle. We realised that we needed access to Kanu zones,” says Raila of the NDP-Kanu cooperation.

“The cooperation yielded results. I was appointed the minister for energy, there was cooperation, partnership and merged parties and then I became the secretary general” he recalls.

The succession intrigues deepened when Moi engineered the resignation of nominated MP Mark Too, and his replacement by Uhuru Kenyatta, son of first President Jomo Kenyatta. Moi then made changes on the cabinet putting Uhuru in charge of the politically influential Ministry of Local Government.

But it wasn’t until the final seven months of his term that Moi made his intentions known; he wanted Uhuru Kenyatta to be his successor as President.

Defying the rest of the party top leadership, Moi threw Uhuru into the race and personally took him to the campaign trail. The move split Kanu down the middle with Secretary General Raila Odinga walking out of the party with several cabinet ministers including Kalonzo Musyoka, William ole Ntimama and the late George Saitoti to form the Liberal Democratic Party that they nicknamed Rainbow.

Says Raila: “We disagreed when it came to the nomination of the presidential candidate because Moi insisted that he had to pick the flag bearer.”

MUTHAURA CALLS IT A BIG MISTAKE

Moi pressed ahead and gathered thousands of party supporters at the Kasarani indoor stadium for the official nomination of Uhuru as KANU presidential candidate.
Uhuru was by this time nicknamed ‘the Project’ by his opponents.

“We differed with Moi,” says Raila. “That was a big mistake,” says Muthaura.

According to longtime MP Fred Gumo, “The main fear of that time was that Uhuru was too young.” According to Gumo it was feared that Moi would use Uhuru. “ The biggest fear was Moi himself.”

“He (Moi) handled his transition really badly,” chips in Peter Kenneth.

As Moi and Uhuru hit the campaign trail, top civil service officials led by Dr Sally Kosgei began preparing for the historic transition. For the first time ever the country was about to witness the handing over of power from one president to the next.

“Most of my work was in ensuring a peaceful transition,” remembers Kosgei.

“We met every day between 6 and 8am. By October we had two speeches; one to concede defeat and a victory one in the unlikely event that the Kanu candidate won.”

As a result of the many successes in his many years in politics, Daniel Toroitich arap Moi was nicknamed The Professor of Politics. But the political Midas touch appeared to be escaping the king when it came to his succession plan. Uhuru was headed to a loss and Kanu suffered a humiliating defeat.

“It was very clear. We were in this country. You could feel it,” says Dr Kosgei.

“I told him (Moi) what the people in the street and in my village were saying, but he told me ‘you don’t know anything. You are in Nairobi.’”

It was baffling because, Dr Kosgei says, Moi knew better. “He was in constant touch with DOs and village elders and the Intelligence people had briefed him.”

Gumo recalls the president’s stubbornness. “He was not ready to listen to anybody; even his Baringo people who asked him to support senior people — Saitoti or Raila. He said no.”

As the vote counting went on, Uhuru Kenyatta conceded that “Mwai Kibaki would be the third president of Kenya”.

A bad miscalculation was the final act in the 24-year story of President Daniel arap Moi. Supporters of the triumphant NARC coalition mistreated the old man on his last day in office during the chaotic handover ceremony, and officials later followed this apparent humiliation with some snide remarks.

“Moi aende achunge mbuzi,” said Kiraitu Murungi.

Moi has never publicly commented on the events at the handover ceremony or remarks made thereafter. He also let others to be judge in the contentious matter of his legacy. To Lee Njiru there was no mistake.

“It was not Mzee who was defeated in 2002. It was Uhuru. Mzee’s name was not on the ballot paper. Mzee has not lost an election since 1955.”