Moi: Seven years after retirement

By Lillian Aluanga

In her book, The Rise of a Party State in Kenya: From Harambee to Nyayo, Jennifer Widner draws comparisons between Kenya’s first two presidents.

"If Kenyatta had enjoyed a reputation as a conciliator before he became chief of state, Daniel arap Moi came to the presidency as a man whose qualities as a leader were largely unknown".

But it would be this ‘unknown man’, a nephew to senior chief Kiplabat of Baringo, and former student of the African Inland Church mission school, whose 24-year reign would leave a legacy that, evokes admiration and admonition.

"Moi’s first ten years were very successful. He had a great understanding of Kenya. He was a firm and focused leader who knew where he wanted the country to go," says Kanu Vice-Chairman Maj (rtd) Marsden Madoka.

From Kenyatta’s ‘Harambee!’ followed Moi’s rallying call, ‘Nyayo!’ and with it educational institutions, hospitals, projects and even parastatals scrambling for the tiniest connection to Moi’s larger than life image.

There was Nyayo Tea Zones, Nyayo wards, Nyayo House, Nyayo car, ‘maziwa ya nyayo’, Nyayo bus, Nyayo monuments, and Nyayo Stadium, among others.

To have the ‘Moi’ name appended to one’s educational institution was a mark of prestige and quality. But in other circles it also served as a mark of allegiance, leaving no doubt where one’s loyalties lay.

Choirs like Muungano and Prisons carved their niche with songs like Meli ya Nyayo, and Fimbo ya Nyayo, colourfully performed on the day aptly named after Kenya’s second president. On such days party officials donned cockerel brooches and red ties, symbolic of their allegiance to Kanu and the man behind the party.

Moi day fanfare

Today, the fanfare that once graced Moi Day, the seventh since the former president’s exit, has faded. The tunes that praised his leadership no longer waft through radio stations, but Moi’s legacy remains.

"Moi was Kenya’s president for 24 years and it would be hard to completely erase his memory," says University of Nairobi lecturer Adams Oloo. And that includes even the bad memories of political detentions, a gagged media, unresolved killings of high profile personalities and ethnic clashes.

On the positive, Dr Oloo, a political science lecturer, cites schools that were named after Moi, which continue to excel in national exams.

"They were good schools and just because Moi’s tenure ended did not mean they would collapse," he says.

Nyayo monuments are still standing, as are buildings and institutions of higher learning.

"Although Moi’s regime was linked to negativities like the Nyayo torture chambers, the fact is Moi was president for 24 years and his legacy remains," says Oloo.

According to the lecturer the iron fist with which Moi ruled the country appeared to have kept it together and his legacy as a master of the political stage remains.

"Moi’s tenure was not 100 per cent bad," says veteran politician Martin Shikuku.

"At least there was discipline within Government," he adds.

The former Butere MP was among those who faced the wrath of the Moi regime, but says he still remains friends with the former president.

"I doubt whether Moi gave orders for people to be tortured," says Madoka.

The former Mwatate MP blames ‘zealous’ security agents, who in their quest to extract information used their power to instil fear.

To others, what stands out most in Moi’s legacy, seven years later, is his contribution in education.

"No one can take that away from him. What Moi did both at a personal and national level for schools cannot be ignored," says former Bomet MP Nick Salat. Salat says Kenyans holding administrative positions in Botswana, Namibia, and other countries are testament to this. Others like Shikuku, however, think differently.

"I was opposed to the 8-4-4 system of education because we were hurrying to churn out graduates with no jobs," he says.

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

Kenyatta’s footsteps

Shikuku also faults Moi for following too closely in Kenyatta’s footsteps and allowing corruption to thrive.

"What Kenyatta did, Moi did more faithfully and in some ways even exceeded his predecessor," Shikuku says.

"Wherever Moi went, he gave handouts and people grew to expect this. It is this culture of expecting to earn something for nothing that planted the seeds of corruption," he adds.

But for all the faults associated with Moi’s legacy, Shikuku credits the former president for what he calls being ‘intelligent enough to read the country’s mood’. He cites both local and international pressure leading to the repeal of Section 2A thereby abolishing the one party rule.

Shikuku and Madoka agree that Moi started off well but changed after the attempted coup in 1982, a factor, which contributed to the path the country, would later take.

"Moi stopped trusting people after the attempted coup. Chances are that some decisions he made after this were based on suspicion, and chances are that they might have been wrong," says Madoka.

He, like Shikuku, believes by Moi allowing corruption to creep into the system, he tainted his legacy.

"He (Moi) was surrounded by people who took advantage of their closeness to him to engage in corrupt deals," says Madoka.

Salat says history has proved Moi right in view of warnings he made prior to his departure and that the public is now beginning to appreciate what Moi stood for.

Says Oloo: "The opening up of democratic space opened unresolved differences, which had remained quiet during Moi’s one-party dictatorial rule."

For others, the debate as to what Moi’s legacy represent continue.

"I know Moi loved Kenya and wanted the best for this country. Whether he always used the right method or not to achieve this is what am not sure about," says Madoka.