Respected or feared? Of Kenya’s second president, the late Daniel arap Moi, a man who was loved and hated in equal measure

By Sam Abuya

On Tuesday, February 4, 2020, Kenya woke up to the news of the passing on of the country’s second and longest serving president Daniel arap Moi at 95 years, a man who ruled the East African country for 24 years back to back, attracting both confidants and critics alike.

The news, which spread like bushfire making headlines in both local and international media, was greeted with mixed reactions with those once very close to him remembering him for the great things that he did to the country while, on the other hand, those who were opposed to his rule during his reign taking that moment to remember the kind of terror that they endured in the hands of the regime of the once powerful man, Daniel arap Moi.

By the time of publishing this article, tributes were still pouring in from local leaders as well as from around the world for the demise of Kenya’s longest serving president. Several mourned him not only as an icon but also as a statesman who ruled in a leadership that united the country.

Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta issued a proclamation declaring a mourning period until such a time when the former president will be laid rest, a function that is expected to happen next week, February 12, 2020 at his local home.

Tanzania’s President John Pombe Magufuli sent in his condolences eulogizing Daniel arap Moi as a leader who had a keen eye in strengthening the bond between countries in the East Africa Community.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed mourned Moi sending messages of condolences to the family, friends and relatives of the fallen ex-president.

Other leaders who sent in their messages of condolences include Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, Edgar Lungu of Zambia, Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni and the United Kingdom’s ambassador to Kenya Jane Marriot among many others.

Fierce critics of Moi’s regime

Those who critic Daniel arap Moi, a man who ruled Kenya from 1978 to 2002 following the death of the country’s founding father Jomo Kenyatta, say he oversaw a regime which was shrouded with political repression, notorious corruption and economic stagnation.

Many opposition figures, especially during the struggle for multiparty space in Kenya, were illegally arrested, detained and tortured with some dying, at least according to the United Nations investigators and human rights organizations including Africa Watch and Amnesty International.

Those who were illegally detained and tortured include Koigi wa Wamwere, the now exiled Dr. Miguna Miguna, the late Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai and writer Ngugi Wa Thiong’o to name a few.

Respected or feared?

The issue of whether Moi was respected or feared literally depends on where one stands and, according to political pundits, depending on ‘the Moi that one interacted with’. It is hard to draw the line.

Those who served under Moi’s regime still express their uttermost respect to the fallen hero. To them, he’ll be remembered for many things that he did to the country like his contributions towards the education sector and uniting Kenyans and making the country peaceful at a time when her neighbours were plunging into civil wars.

On the other side of the divide, those who suffered terror courtesy of his regime choose to remember him as a man who came up with the ‘torture chambers’, that were commonly known as Nyayo chambers in the Capital Nairobi, where his opponents ‘would get a dose of their medicine’ for opposing the then government.

They remember Daniel arap Moi as a man who forced quite a number of his critics to go into exile, for many years. They remember Moi as a man who run the country in a single party regime and one who oppressed the opposition after a section of the constitution was amended to allow multiparty in 1991. Moi had introduced a clause in the constitution in 1982 to make Kenya a one party state.

Moi is said to have ‘crushed’ his opponents particularly after the attempted coup in 1982, something which left him feeling betrayed even by those once close to him forcing him to change tact.

Thousands of academicians who were perceived to be opposition-leaning, activists and university students were held without charge in during the regime of Daniel arap Moi.

Several massacres of civilians, like the Wagalla massacre, happened during Moi’s era.  He, however, had denied all those allegations before he met his death.

A ‘man of all seasons’

Those who served Mzee, as they fondly call or called him, will tell you Moi was a man who would adapt to any situation. When Kenya needed a leader to unite people, he was there and when the country required a man to rule by an iron fist, he was there as well.

For instance, the late president Moi is said to have hardened after the failed 1982 coup by low-ranking air force officers who were crushed by army loyalist. The failed coup led to the arrest of several members of the air force and several other people. All civil servants were also ordered to join the ruling party.

Since his death early this week, several hashtags have been trending on social media platforms, particularly on Twitter, some celebrating him while others reminding people of the ills that were committed under his watch.

Moi stepped down from power in 2002 when his preferred candidate Uhuru Kenyatta, the now sitting president, failed to clinch victory and succeed him during the then general elections subsequently handing over power to the then opposition led by the now retired president Mwai Kibaki.

A public memorial service for the late former president has been set for Tuesday, February 11, 2020, a day which the Kenyan government has declared a public holiday. He will be accorded a state funeral on February, 12, 2020.

Sam Abuya is the Africa Global News’ Nairobi-based Digital Editor.