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Removing Moi from power was not a joke. The Odinga family played a pivotal role and deserve our collective respect. Fourth thread on Railaphobia. LONG THREAD, FREE TO DISCARD
The crisis around 1982 was a godsend. Moi used it as an excuse to consolidate more power and remove the strong people in government whom he had been unable to get rid of on his way to power consolidation. The immediate casualty was Charles Njonjo
Njonjo had single-handedly managed Kenyatta succession and shielded Moi from elections after acting for 3 months according to the law. He had just a few days earlier pushed through legal amendments to make Kenya a one-party state. He was removed from office in the coup aftermath
The remaining senior Kikuyu leader then was VP Mwai Kibaki. He was a strong personality and held the vital financé docket. He was also an important umbilical cord between Moi and the Kikuyu. He remained but was tactfully isolated from the government becoming a mere figurehead
Moi pledged ruthlessness. “I will be ruthless – Moi,” was one newspaper headline. And ruthless he became. He placed loyal aides in every important office in the country. And brooked no dissent or criticism. In no time, Moi was focal point of everything in Kenya
Moi was farmer number one, teacher number one, sportsman number one. Any other personality who threatened to share the limelight with Moi was eliminated including sabotaging their businesses or jobs. Leading news in radio and TV was about Moi without any exception
The UON celebrated the coup. It was time to revisit. Any lecturer suspected of radical ideas was tortured and detained and their books confiscated. Prominent examples include @WMutunga and @AnyangNyongo. Many others suffered, were sacked, and fled the country
UON was a big headache to Moi from the start. The Act did not allow a non-graduate to become a chancellor. A short-cut was sought to enable Moi to become chancellor. After the coup, Moi wanted the elite institution tamed. He infiltrated it until a friendly VC was in place
One thing people don’t understand today was that the rapid expansion of universities was not so much motivated by a love for education. It was aimed at vitiating the IDEOLOGICAL STING of UON by having friendly lecturers promoted to senior positions to propagate Moi friendly ideas
They managed these varsities with a blank cheque. As long as they were loyal to Moi, no other standards mattered. They employed their tribes and friends and didn’t give a hoot about probity. That's the genesis of tribalism and stagnation haunting public universities today
With Moi firmly entrenched, with sycophants in every institution, a downward spiral was the natural course. Tribalism, oppression, poverty... increased. It was bad and it was just a matter of time that open defiance would start risky as it was.
The first recorded criticism of Moi came from @timothynjoya from a church in Rungiri, Kikuyu. He warned that “A limping sheep cannot take the herd to the waters” as per the popular parable. This raised an instant uproar. It was almost taboo to disagree let alone criticize Moi.
Without legal avenue to oppose Moi, change was fomented in Church. The media followed Njoya in all his sermons and other clergies like Henry Okullu in Kisumu and Kipsang Muge in Eldoret. They were looking for a safe way of airing gvt criticism and attribute it to the church
Njoya was at again. After the collapse of the Berlin Wall, he warned that one-party state no longer made sense; it was time to open up Kenya. It was still risky to think like that. Henry Okullu later followed – we need an end to one party and introduce presidential term limits
Moi was taking personal offense and answering the clergy back. Calling them subversives doing the bidding of "foreign masters." Then came two influential Kikuyu politicians, Ken Matiba and Charles Rubia. Demanded more parties and limitation of Presidential terms.
To cut a long story short, getting Moi out of power was no joke. Moi would have clung to leadership Mugambe style. It took great courage and sacrifices. The Kikuyu nation treats this matter trivially today but largely because of the guilt of betraying those who sacrificed
In other words, the fire of the second liberation was started and maintained by many gallant Kenyans. The strongest personality was Raila’s father Jaramogi, around whom many other activists coalesced. They called for meetings and demonstrations until Moi gave in.
That was first hurdle. A major step forward it was. Somebody like Kibaki was now comfortable enough to resign from government and form Democratic Party. Initially he was roundly condemned and ridiculed. Because he would “divide” opposition votes in the first multiparty elections
Multi party meant nothing since Moi still held all instruments of power. Constitution now had term limits, but Moi controlled all arms of gvt including the judiciary. The court ruled that new law couldn’t apply in retrospect. Term limit could only apply to Moi FROM THEN ONWARDS
This way Moi managed to buy time and rule for another 10 years by rigging his way back in 1992 and 1997. People protested this rigging thru demonstrations but were brutally suppressed by gvt. Then Kikuyu and Luo solidarity was strongest and admiration for Raila at its peak.
Big Question – COULD BBI be HISTORY REPEATING ITSELF? Will it be an excuse for Uhuru to “start afresh”?
Is it the reason there is so much interest in the position of CJ? Time will tell @MuruguKaritu @engndiewo @akokoken @patchyplacing @bintiswahiliya @masindeonyango @Wakabando
Is it the reason there is so much interest in the position of CJ? Time will tell @MuruguKaritu @engndiewo @akokoken @patchyplacing @bintiswahiliya @masindeonyango @Wakabando
To finish this thread, even after manipulating the law and extending the rule by two more terms, it reached a time Moi was finally short of mischief and he had to exit in 2002. That was before he turned Kenya into a Zibambwe which is where it was definitely headed
@NdunguWainaina @EAukot @waikwawanyoike @jageyo @WMutunga @GabrielDolan1 @ErickssonOdhia2 @maheakim @cyprianongeri1 @CarolmNyaga @OLE_WARURU @therealgakio @omollo_o @JunetMohamed @Disembe @RobertAlai @ItsMutai @JONNIEKIP @BasilioCC @Phelixi @Realxxaddi @pkamau99
