Daniel Toroitich arap Moi (born 2 September 1924) was the President of
KenyaKenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
from 1978 until 2002.
Daniel arap Moi is popularly known to Kenyans as 'Nyayo', a
SwahiliSwahili or Kiswahili is a Bantu language spoken by various ethnic groups that inhabit several large stretches of the Mozambique Channel coastline from northern Kenya to northern Mozambique, including the Comoro Islands. It is also spoken by ethnic minority groups in Somalia...
word for 'footsteps'. He was following the footsteps of the first Kenyan President,
Jomo KenyattaJomo Kenyattapron.] served as the first Prime Minister and President of Kenya. He is considered the founding father of the Kenyan nation....
.
Early life and entry into politics
Moi was born in Kurieng'wo village,
SachoSacho is a township in Baringo District, Rift Valley Province, Kenya. It is located along Kabarnet - Eldama Ravine road 24 kilometres south of Kabarnet and 6 kilometres north of Tenges....
division,
Baringo DistrictBaringo District is an administrative district in the Rift Valley Province of Kenya. Its capital town is Kabarnet. The district has a population of 264,978 and an area of 8,646 km² ....
, Rift Valley Province, and was raised by his mother Kimoi Chebii following the early death of his father. After completing his secondary education, he attended
Tambach Teachers Training CollegeTambach Teachers College is a college in Tambach, Kenya. It is one of the 20 public primary teachers colleges in Kenya and among the last five of such institutions constructed in the late 1980s by the government of Kenya through the support of the World Bank. The college is situated in the Kerio...
in the
Keiyo DistrictKeiyo District is an administrative district in the Rift Valley Province of Kenya. The district was formed in 1994, when Elgeyo/Marakwet-District was split into two, the other half is Marakwet District of today. Keiyo District has a population of 143.865...
. He worked as a teacher from 1946 until 1955.
In 1955 Moi entered politics when he was elected Member of the Legislative Council for Rift Valley. In 1960 he founded the
Kenya African Democratic UnionThe Kenya African Democratic Union was a political party in Kenya. It was founded in 1960 as an alternative to Jomo Kenyatta's Kenya African National Union . It was led by Ronald Ngala...
(KADU) with Ronald Ngala to challenge the
Kenya African National UnionThe Kenya African National Union, better known as KANU is a political party which ruled Kenya for nearly 40 years after its independence from British colonial rule in 1963, until its electoral loss at the end of 2002...
(KANU) led by Jomo Kenyatta. KADU pressed for a federal constitution, while KANU was in favour of centralism. The advantage lay with the numerically stronger KANU, and the British government was finally forced to remove all provisions of a federal nature from the constitution.
In 1957 Moi was re-elected Member of the Legislative Council for Rift Valley. He became Minister of Education in the pre-independence government of 1960–1961.
Vice-presidency
After Kenya gained independence on 12 December 1963, Kenyatta convinced Moi that KADU and KANU should be merged to complete the process of decolonisation. Kenya therefore became a de facto
single-party stateA single-party state, one-party system or single-party system is a type of party system government in which a single political party forms the government and no other parties are permitted to run candidates for election...
, dominated by the Kĩkũyũ-Luo alliance. With an eye on the fertile lands of the rift valley populated by members of Moi's Kalenjin tribe, Kenyatta secured their support by first promoting Moi to Minister for Home Affairs in 1964, and then to
vice-presidentThe Vice-President of Kenya is the second-highest executive official in the Kenyan government.-List of Vice-Presidents of Kenya:*Jaramogi Oginga Odinga *Joseph Zuzarte Murumbi *Daniel arap Moi...
in 1967. As a member of a minority tribe Moi was also an acceptable compromise for the major tribes. Moi was elected to the
Kenyan parliamentThe unicameral National Assembly of Kenya is the country's legislative body.The current National Assembly has a total of 224 members. 210 members are directly elected in single member constituencies using the simple majority system...
in 1963 from
Baringo NorthBaringo North Constituency is an electoral constituency in Kenya. It is one of three constituencies in Baringo District, Rift Valley Province. The constituency was established for the 1963 elections...
. Since 1966 until his retirement in 2002 he served as the
Baringo CentralBaringo Central Constituency is an electoral constituency in Kenya. It is one of three constituencies in Baringo District, Rift Valley Province. The constituency was established for the 1966 elections....
MP.
However, Moi faced opposition from the Kikuyu elite known as the
Kiambu MafiaThe Kiambu Mafia is a pejorative term referring to a small group of the Kikuyu people primarily from the then Kiambu District of Kenya who benefited financially and politically from Kenya African National Union and Kenyatta taking power at independence.These individuals earned wealth primarily in...
, who would have preferred one of their own to be eligible for the presidency. This resulted in an infamous attempt by the constitutional drafting group to change the constitution to prevent the vice-president automatically assuming power in the event of the president's death. The presence of this
successionAn order of succession is a formula or algorithm that determines who inherits an office upon the death, resignation, or removal of its current occupant.-Monarchies and nobility:...
mechanism may have led to dangerous political instability if Kenyatta died, given his advanced age and perennial illnesses. However, Kenyatta withstood the political pressure and safeguarded Moi's position.
Presidency
When Jomo Kenyatta died on 22 August 1978, Moi became president and took the oath of office. He was popular, with widespread support all over the country. He toured the country and came into contact with the people everywhere, which was in great contrast to Kenyatta's imperial style of governing behind closed doors. However, political realities dictated that he would continue to be beholden to the Kenyatta system which he had inherited intact, and he was still too weak to consolidate his power. From the beginning, anticommunism was an important theme of Moi's government; speaking on the new President's behalf, Vice-President
Mwai KibakiMwai Kibaki is the current and third President of the republic of Kenya.Kibaki was previously Vice President of Kenya for ten years from 1978–1988 and also held cabinet ministerial positions, including a widely acclaimed stint as Minister for Finance , Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for...
bluntly stated, "There is no room for communists in Kenya."
On 1 August 1982, fate played into Moi's hands when forces loyal to his government defeated an attempted coup d'état by Air Force officers led by
Hezekiah OchukaHezekiah Rabala Ochuka, was Senior Private in the Kenya Air Force, who ruled Kenya for about six hours after planning and executing a coup against president Daniel arap Moi on August 1, 1982....
(see 1982 Kenyan coup d'état attempt). To this day it appears that the attempt by two independent groups to seize power contributed to the failure of both, with one group making its attempt slightly earlier than the other.
Moi took the opportunity to dismiss political opponents and consolidate his power. He reduced the influence of Kenyatta's men in the cabinet through a long running judicial enquiry that resulted in the identification of key Kenyatta men as traitors. Moi pardoned them but not before establishing their traitor status in the public view. The main conspirators in the coup, including Ochuka were sentenced to death, marking the last judicial executions in Kenya. He appointed supporters to key roles and changed the constitution to establish a
de jure single-party stateA single-party state, one-party system or single-party system is a type of party system government in which a single political party forms the government and no other parties are permitted to run candidates for election...
.
Kenya's academics and other intelligentsia did not accept this and the universities and colleges became the origin of movements that sought to introduce democratic reforms. However, Kenyan
secret policeSecret police are a police agency which operates in secrecy and beyond the law to protect the political power of an individual dictator or an authoritarian political regime....
infiltrated these groups and many members moved into exile. Marxism could no longer be taught at Kenyan universities. Underground movements, e.g. Mwakenya and Pambana, were born.
Moi's regime now faced the end of the
Cold WarThe Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, and an economy stagnating under rising oil prices and falling prices for agricultural commodities. At the same time the West no longer dealt with Kenya as it had in the past, when it was viewed as a strategic regional outpost against communist influences from Ethiopia and Tanzania. At that time Kenya had received much foreign aid, and the country was accepted as being well governed with Moi as a legitimate leader and firmly in charge. The increasing amount of
political repressionPolitical repression is the persecution of an individual or group for political reasons, particularly for the purpose of restricting or preventing their ability to take political life of society....
, including the use of
tortureTorture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
, at the infamous Nyayo House torture chambers had been deliberately overlooked. Some of the evidence of these torture cells were to be later exposed in 2003 after
Mwai KibakiMwai Kibaki is the current and third President of the republic of Kenya.Kibaki was previously Vice President of Kenya for ten years from 1978–1988 and also held cabinet ministerial positions, including a widely acclaimed stint as Minister for Finance , Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for...
became President.
However, a new thinking emerged after the end of the Cold War, and as Moi became increasingly viewed as a
despotDespotism is a form of government in which a single entity rules with absolute power. That entity may be an individual, as in an autocracy, or it may be a group, as in an oligarchy...
, foreign aid was withheld pending compliance with economic and political reforms. One of the key conditions imposed on his regime, especially by the United States through fiery ambassador
Smith HempstoneSmith Hempstone was a journalist, author, and the United States ambassador to Kenya in 1989–93. He was a vocal proponent of democracy, fighting for free elections in Kenya in 1991.-Biography:...
, was the restoration of a
multi-party systemA multi-party system is a system in which multiple political parties have the capacity to gain control of government separately or in coalition, e.g.The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition in the United Kingdom formed in 2010. The effective number of parties in a multi-party system is normally...
. Moi managed to accomplish this against fierce opposition, single handedly convincing the delegates at the KANU conference at Kasarani in December, 1991.
Moi won elections in 1992 and 1997, which were marred by political violence on both sides. Moi skillfully exploited Kenya's mix of ethnic tensions in these contests, with the ever present fear of the smaller tribes being dominated by the larger tribes. In the absence of an effective and organised opposition Moi had no difficulty in winning. Although it is also suspected that electoral fraud may have occurred, the key to his victory in both elections was a divided opposition.
Criticism and corruption allegations
In 1999 the findings of NGOs like
Amnesty InternationalAmnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
and a special investigation by the United Nations were published which indicated that human rights abuses were prevalent in Kenya under the Moi regime.
Reporting on corruption and human rights abuses by British reporter
Mary Anne FitzgeraldMary Anne Fitzgerald is a British journalist, development aid worker and author, best known for her international war reporting in Africa, and two successful books.- Biography :Fitzgerald was born in South Africa...
from 1987–1988 resulted only in her being vilified by the government and finally deported. Moi was implicated in the 1990s
Goldenberg scandalThe Goldenberg scandal was a political scandal where the Kenyan government was found to have subsidised exports of gold far beyond standard arrangements during the 1990s, by paying the company Goldenberg International 35% more than their foreign currency earnings...
and subsequent cover-ups, where the Kenyan government subsidized exports of gold far in excess of the foreign currency earnings of exporters. In this case, the gold was smuggled from
CongoThe Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
, as Kenya has negligible gold reserves. The Goldenberg scandal cost Kenya the equivalent of more than 10% of the country's annual GDP.
Half-hearted inquiries that began at the request of foreign aid donors never amounted to anything substantial during Moi's presidency. Although it appears that the peaceful transfer of power to
Mwai KibakiMwai Kibaki is the current and third President of the republic of Kenya.Kibaki was previously Vice President of Kenya for ten years from 1978–1988 and also held cabinet ministerial positions, including a widely acclaimed stint as Minister for Finance , Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for...
may have involved an understanding that Moi would not stand trial for offences committed during his presidency, foreign aid donors reiterated their requests and Kibaki reopened the inquiry. As the inquiry has progressed, Moi, his two sons, Philip and Gideon (now a member of Parliament), and his daughter June, as well as a host of high-ranking Kenyans, have been implicated. In bombshell testimony delivered in late July 2003, Treasury Permanent Secretary Joseph Magari recounted that in 1991, Moi ordered him to pay Ksh34.5 million ($460,000) to Goldenberg, contrary to the laws then in force.
In October 2006, Moi was found, by the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, to have taken a bribe from a Pakistani businessman to award monopoly of duty free shops at the country's international airport in Mombasa and Nairobi. The businessman Ali Nasir claimed to have paid Moi 2 million US$ in cash to obtain government approval for the World Duty Free Limited investment in Kenya.
On 31 August 2007, the Guardian published a secret report that laid bare a web of shell companies, secret trusts and frontmen that his entourage used to funnel hundreds of millions of pounds into nearly 30 countries.
Stepping down and retirement
Moi was constitutionally barred from running in the 2002 presidential elections. Some of his supporters floated the idea of amending the constitution to allow him to run for a third term, but Moi preferred to retire, choosing
Uhuru KenyattaUhuru Muigai Kenyatta is a Kenyan politician, currently serving as Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Finance and MP for Gatundu South Constituency. He is the Chairman of Kenya African National Union , the former ruling party, which is currently part of the Party of National Unity...
, the son of Kenya's first President, as his successor.
Mwai KibakiMwai Kibaki is the current and third President of the republic of Kenya.Kibaki was previously Vice President of Kenya for ten years from 1978–1988 and also held cabinet ministerial positions, including a widely acclaimed stint as Minister for Finance , Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for...
, was elected President by a two to one majority over Kenyatta, which was confirmed on 29 December 2002. Kibaki was then wheelchair bound having narrowly escaped death in a road traffic accident on the campaign trail.
Moi handed over power in a poorly organised ceremony that had one of the largest crowds ever seen in Nairobi in attendance. The crowd was openly hostile to Moi.
After leaving office in December 2002, Moi lived in retirement, largely shunned by the political establishment. However, he still retained some popularity with the masses, and his presence never failed to quickly gather a crowd. He spoke out against a proposal for a new constitution in 2005; according to Moi, the document was contrary to the aspirations of the Kenyan people. After the proposal was defeated in a
November 2005 constitutional referendumThe 2005 Kenyan constitutional referendum was held on 21 November 2005. The proposed new constitution was voted down by a 58% majority of Kenya's voters...
, Kibaki called Moi to arrange for a meeting to discuss the way forward.
On 25 July 2007, Kibaki appointed Moi as special peace envoy to
SudanSudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
, referring to Moi's "vast experience and knowledge of African affairs" and "his stature as an elder statesman". In his capacity as peace envoy, Moi's primary task was to help secure peace in southern Sudan, where an agreement, signed in early 2005, was being implemented. At the time, the Kenyan press speculated that Moi and Kibaki were planning an alliance ahead of the
December 2007 electionA presidential election was held as part of the Kenyan general election on December 27, 2007; parliamentary elections were held on the same date. Incumbent President Mwai Kibaki was declared the winner and sworn in on December 30, despite opposition leader Raila Odinga's claims of victory...
. On 28 August 2007, Moi announced his support for Kibaki's re-election and said that he would campaign for Kibaki. He sharply criticized the two opposition
Orange Democratic MovementOrange Democratic Movement refers to a political party in Kenya, which is the successor of a former grassroots people's movement which was formed in the 2005 Kenyan constitutional referendum. The erstwhile single party which separated in August 2007 into two...
factions, arguing that they were tribal in nature.
Moi owns the Kiptagich Tea Factory, which was established in 1979, which has been involved in controversy. In 2009 the factory was under threat of being closed down by the government during the
Mau ForestMau Forest is a forest complex in the Rift Valley of Kenya. It is the largest indigenous montane forest in East Africa. The Mau Forest complex has an area of ....
evictions.
Personal life
Daniel arap Moi married Lena Moi (born Helena Bommet) in 1950, but they separated in 1974, before his presidency. Thus
"Mama Ngina"Ngina Kenyatta , popularly known as "Mama Ngina", is the widow of Kenya's first president, Jomo Kenyatta . She is described by Godfrey Gitahi Kariuki as a kind and welcoming lady....
, the wife of Jomo Kenyatta, retained her first lady status. Lena died in 2004. Daniel arap Moi has eight children, five sons and three daughters. Among the children are
Gideon MoiGideon Moi is a Kenyan politician. He is the youngest son of Kenya's second president, Daniel arap Moi, and Lena Moi.Gideon's primary school education was at the elite Kenton College Preparatory School. He was one of 24 students enrolled to attend Strathmore College when it opened its doors to...
(a former MP), Jonathan Toroitich (a former
rallyRallying, also known as rally racing, is a form of auto racing that takes place on public or private roads with modified production or specially built road-legal cars...
driver) and Philip Moi (a retired army officer).
. His older and only brother William Tuitoek died in 1995
Video
External links