By Joe Ombuor

As Kenyans mark Moi day, the seventh since former President Moi retired, a lot can be said about his legacy.

However, many people agree one of his greatest contributions was in education and peace efforts.

Moi’s Press Secretary Lee Njiru says the former president contributed immensely to the development of education, largely from his own resources.

Former President Moi. Photo: File/Standard

"His passion to build and equip learning institutions is a glowing sheen in his legacy," says Njiru.

"That passion never dissipated with Moi’s exit from power, as his detractors may have hoped," he notes.

Njiru says Moi has spent close to Sh100 million of "his personal money" assisting schools since he retired. Moi, reliable sources say, will deliver a 70-seater bus next Friday to Kablamai Secondary School in Cherangany constituency.

No sooner had he stepped out of State House than Moi went to Ukambani and donated a Sh8 million 70-seater bus to Tala Girls High School.

Says Njiru: "He was fulfilling a promise he made to the students when he was still president that he would buy them a bus".

Prior to his retirement, Moi built and renovated many schools, some of which were named after him.

Perhaps the beacon of Moi’s contribution to education is the current Moi High School, Kabarak (formerly Kabarak High School) for which he donated land and built from scratch in 1979. To cap it all, Moi built Kabarak University that, like the school, stands on land he donated.

These are but a few of the schools that have benefited from Moi’s generosity. The Moi African Institute that came into existence after his retirement has been instrumental in reconciling warring communities in Southern Sudan through the South South dialogue, says the institute’s Chief Executive Lieutenant General (Rtd) Lazaro Sumbeiywo.

"We have created some harmony among the bigger communities of Dinka, Shilluk, Nuer, Murule, Bare and Mundari who have been quarrelling over oil reserves, perceived boundaries and grazing grounds for their animals," says Sumbeiywo.

He says the institute has also strived to bring peace between the warring Maasai and Samburu communities by building a primary school at their border.

"A lot of bonding takes place when children from hostile communities learn together in classrooms as happens at Kamaya Primary School," says Sumbeiywo.

Dr Adams Oloo, a lecturer in the Department of political science at the University of Nairobi says Moi’s credentials on peace stand out "more so by the way he left power".

"One should have expected the blood letting of post-2007 elections to happen in 2002, but Moi upheld peace, even as mud balls were hurled at him. That was remarkable for one who had wielded power for 24 years," says Oloo.