Handshake has cut back Uhuru’s power so early in his second term

In 2022, Uhuru Kenyatta will become Kenya’s third former president after Daniel Moi and Mwai Kibaki. Former presidents are relatively new, and the product of term limits that have since been introduced into the Constitution. The transitions between former presidents and their successors show vast contrasts. An examination of what happened in the transition between Moi and Kibaki, who ended up as his successor, may provide clues on what is possible between Kenyatta and his eventual successor.

Presidential term limits were first introduced in 1992 after Moi had already been in power for 14 years. The period that Moi had already served was discounted as the term limits were to apply only in future. As the year 2002 approached, Kenya grew increasingly nervous, unsure whether Moi would respect the term limit that the Constitution now imposed on him.