The legacy of Daniel arap Moi still haunts Kenya

DANIEL ARAP MOI was in many ways an accidental president. Though he had been number two to Jomo Kenyatta, independent Kenya’s first leader, the Kikuyu elite looked down on him. They saw the former teacher from the Kalenjin group as a modest man with much to be modest about. But when Kenyatta’s death in 1978 led to a struggle for power among Kikuyu bigwigs, the pragmatists settled on Mr Moi, believing they could manipulate him from behind the scenes.For a while it worked. Charles Njonjo, the powerful attorney-general, mentored Mr Moi, teaching him how to be an English gentleman. He took him to services at All Saints’ Cathedral in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, and showed him how to pray like an Anglican: kneel here during the Eucharistic prayers, sing lustily from the hymnal. Meanwhile, Mr Moi got better at courting popular support, introducing a school milk programme (for which he is still praised) and releasing some political detainees.