Daniel arap Moi dead: Kenya's longest-serving president dies aged 95

Former President Daniel arap Moi delivers his inaugural speech after he was sworn in for final five-year term in Nairobi
AFP via Getty Images
Bonnie Christian4 February 2020

Kenya’s former president Daniel arap Moi has died aged 95.

Mr Moi was the East African state’s second and longest serving president, holding office for 24 years.

He stepped down in 2002 after being constitutionally barred from running for a further term.

Despite being called a dictator by critics, Mr Moi enjoyed strong support from many Kenyans and was seen as a uniting figure when he took power, after founding President Jomo Kenyatta died in office in 1978.

In 1980, President Daniel arap Moi stands to propose a toast in front of President Jimmy Carter in the State Dining Room of the White House
AP

In office, he was feared and admired in equal measure, and was accused of human rights abuses.

He introduced multi-party politics in 1991, but subsequent elections were marred by rigging.

Mr Moi, a former school teacher, died on Tuesday after being in hospital for nearly a month.

Born on September 2, 1924 to a farming family, he served as home affairs minister from 1964 and in 1967 became the country’s vice-president.

In 2002, outgoing President Daniel arap Moi inspects a guard of honor
AP

He was unopposed as president at election in 1983 and 1988. After the introduction of multi-party politics he was elected for a further two terms in 1992 and 1997 in polls that were widely regarded as rigged.

According to a report by the government’s Truth Justice and Reconciliation Commission that assessed his rule, Mr Moi’s unopposed government in the 1980s became repressive at dealing with dissent.

Political activists and others who dared oppose his rule were routinely detained and tortured, the report said, noting unlawful detentions and assassinations, including the killing of a foreign affairs minister, Robert Ouko.

By the time Mr Moi left power in 2002, corruption had left Kenya’s economy with negative growth.

Mr Moi often blamed the West for bad publicity and the economic hardships many Kenyans had to endure during his rule.

But defenders of Moi's legacy point to his often-repeated line that he kept Kenya "peaceful", while several African countries were experiencing strife.

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