US spy agency named Kibaki, JM Kariuki as potential Jomo Kenyatta successors

Former President Mwai Kibaki

At least six years before Jomo Kenyatta died, America’s Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had prepared a thorough assessment of the political succession in Kenya, complete with possible successors, their chances and competence, and how they would affect the country’s relations with the United States.

The spy agency, in an intelligence memorandum dated May 30, 1972, said Kenya’s then Vice President Daniel Moi was unlikely to last beyond the 90-day acting period. In their view, Moi was politically ill-equipped for the top job and did not have the confidence of the powerbrokers in the government of Kenyatta.