The legacy of Daniel arap Moi still haunts Kenya
The former strongman was responsible for repression, corruption and ethnic favouritism
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.
This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “Après Moi”
From the February 8th 2020 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from Middle East & Africa
Syria’s new rulers say they are keen to integrate foreign fighters
Outsiders continue to see them as a threat
Rwanda’s reckless plan to redraw the map of Africa
The fall of Goma could trigger another Congo conflict
Three big lawsuits against Meta in Kenya may have global implications
One was prompted by the murder of an Ethiopian professor
Trump should try to end, not manage, the Middle East’s oldest conflicts
And he should see the region as more than a source of instability and arms deals
Government by social media in Somalia
Cheap data, social media and creativity are filling in for an absent state
The Gaza ceasefire is stoking violence in the West Bank
Hamas and the Israeli far right both want to destabilise the West Bank