Daniel arap Moi

Daniel arap Moi, born in 1924, second president of Kenya (1978-2002), who succeeded Kenyan independence leader and first president Jomo Kenyatta. Moi was born in a village in western Kenya, which was then a colony of the British Empire. He was trained as a teacher and taught from 1946 until 1955, when he was appointed to one of the African seats in Kenya’s Legislative Council. Moi won an elected seat on the council in 1957, and along with the seven other African elected council members he began pushing for an end to British colonial rule.

A member of the Kalenjin ethnic minority, Moi emerged as a leader and spokesman for the Kalenjin. In 1960 he helped found the Kenya African Democratic Union (KADU), a moderate political party supported by several minority ethnic groups. In Kenya’s 1963 pre-independence elections, KADU was defeated by the more radical Kenya African National Union (KANU), which drew support from the Kikuyu, Kenya’s largest ethnic group. Jomo Kenyatta, the leader of KANU and Kenya’s most popular independence leader, then became prime minister. After Kenya became independent in December 1963, KADU voluntarily dissolved itself and joined KANU. Kenya was established as a republic with Kenyatta as president in December 1964. Moi was made minister for home affairs, a clear sign that he enjoyed the favor of Kenyatta.

Moi allied himself with the president and moderates in KANU, and in January 1967 Kenyatta appointed Moi vice president. Moi served as vice president and minister for home affairs until Kenyatta’s death in 1978. During this period, Moi was extremely loyal to the president and faithfully executed the policies of the Kenyatta era. With Kenyatta’s support, Moi survived several attempts orchestrated by Kikuyu politicians to remove him from the office of vice president, which put him in line to succeed the aged Kenyatta. Upon Kenyatta’s death in August 1978, Moi became the second president of Kenya.

Moi ran unopposed in the presidential election of October 1978 and was confirmed in office. He began his presidency by adopting nyayo (Swahili for “footsteps”) as the watchword for his administration, signifying that he was following Kenyatta’s policies. He also cultivated a populist image by traveling throughout Kenya, addressing public meetings, and associating himself with popular policies, such as free milk for school children. Moi kept his opponents divided and disorganized as he appointed Kalenjin allies to important government positions and used the powers of the executive branch—greatly enhanced during his tenure—to solidify his rule. Moi’s presidency became increasingly personal and authoritarian as he began to use state power to consolidate his own political power and enhance his personal fortunes. In 1982 Moi made KANU Kenya’s only legal political party. In August the Kenyan air force attempted an unsuccessful coup to unseat him. Moi was reelected unopposed in 1983 and 1988.

The 1990s brought increasing demands for democratic reform from a wide spectrum of Kenyans, as well as from international aid donors. In December 1991 Moi agreed to legalize opposition political parties but encouraged political and ethnic divisions among the new parties. In presidential elections held in December 1992, Moi faced three major opponents who split the opposition vote. Moi was reelected president with only 36 percent of the vote. By 1997 Moi’s government faced popular calls for further political and electoral reform and an end to widespread government corruption. Moi repealed several repressive measures that had limited opposition-party activity. However, presidential elections held in December 1997 had results similar to those of the 1992 elections, with Moi winning 40 percent of the vote to defeat a fractured opposition.

Constitutionally prohibited from seeking another term, Moi handpicked the KANU presidential candidate in the December 2002 elections. Opposition parties united to sweep the elections, and four decades of KANU rule ended when Moi stepped down in late December. Moi published the book Kenya African Nationalism: Nyayo Philosophy and Principles in 1986, and in 1997 he published Which Way Africa?, a collection of speeches.