He was seen by his critics as an authoritarian ruler who held on to power for 24 years, but his allies credited him for maintaining stability in the East African state.
Moi stepped down in 2002 after being constitutionally barred from running for a further term.
He was the country’s second president taking over after the death of Jomo Kenyatta in 1978.
In office, he was feared and admired in equal measure, and was accused of human rights abuses. Moi introduced multi-party politics in 1991, but subsequent elections were marred by rigging.
He was a more populist politician than Kenya’s first President Jomo Kenyatta and his legacy was tarnished by economic stagnation and accusations of corruption.
Moi, born on 2 September 1924 into a farming family, was a close ally of Kenyatta in the run-up to Kenyan independence in 1963.
He served as home affairs minister from 1964 and in 1967 he became the country’s vice-president.
Until the introduction of multi-party politics, Moi was unopposed as president, at elections in 1983 and 1988.
He was elected for a further two terms in 1992 and 1997 in polls that were widely regarded as rigged.
His critics see his rule as the lost years, a time when Kenya was bedevilled by corruption, ethnic conflicts and human rights abuses.
They say he stymied economic progress by personalising the state, using government resources to award loyalists and withholding them to punish those who did not toe the line.
[BBC]
Out of his death,I remember Zondani Sakala On ZNBC.
Unfortunately this generation of leaders reigned over their people with an iron fist worse than the cruel British. They embraced that British Law called Public Order Act. We still endure the cruelty of that Act. We still reject polygamy but see nothing wrong with single mothers, how do they manage to have kids if they’re not doing it illegally? Mwayi Kibaki left a trail of distruction that the young man Uhuru is trying to mend. Never again should we allow such tyranny in our midst. Unfortunately we still have a new crop of leaders that want to emulate the old school by using State machinery to harm opponents and use State resources to reward relatives and colleagues, even beer-mates! We need to grow out of this embarrassing tradition if indeed we’re to get the most out of our people…
This is one greedy bastard, his family or should say his clan is wealthy from looting the country
Kenyan politicians are the richest in Africa. They are very highly paid. Daniel Arap Moi was constitutionally barred from running for the 4th term in 2002 just like here in Zambia KK was also barred in 1996
walanda mune. Tell them aba ba fikaallllllllllllllllllllllllllllllaaaaaaa
@Tarino Orange bauze ba fikalaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Next ma nfonko
“He was seen by his critics as an authoritarian ruler who held on to power for 24 years, but his allies credited him for maintaining stability in the East African state.”
Correction, he was seen by all as a dictator. Africa needs to label these “independence” liberators from equally evil colonialists by their real nomenclature. Then move on to developing.
Ayatollah this time I agree with you. Like jay jay used to say. Those are lost years.
How many of us even knew he was still around? This is news to me. Thought this was a post from 1992. Kids need to be taught about these dictators while they are still around. Architects of Africa’s education, which is a good thing, but also engineers of most of the corrupt modern day democracies. They stayed in power long enough for their stench of singular corruption to seep into the new democracies around the continent.
well 2 down one to go
Good innings! Kobe should have lived to this age too. Life’s not fair in the slightest!
An African politician is a leech on its citizens. Hardly one or two have been good presidents and they all came from Botswana.
Good riddance to this dirty dictator he really ruined Kenya in so many ways.He had so much wealth which was ill gotten he stole many properties which he was later forced by courts to pay back.