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| Raymond Moi handing over a baton to Gideon Moi. |
The murderous megalomaniac, tyrant and dictator Daniel Moi has been laid to eternal rest today with his burial ceremony spiced with historical redundancies borrowed from other autocracies in the world.
Kenyans had expected that the Moi family would break with struggles to inherit the dynasty and property rows. To clear doubts, elder son Raymond, crowned their last born as Moi’s successor – tasked with carrying the heavy burden of being Moi.
In the colorful ceremony conducted in full Kalenjin honors and in the presence of community elders and millions viewership, Ray selflessly and cautiously handed over the Rungu ya Nyayo to Senator Gideon Moi.
The baton has been passed to Gideon to complete the 2 by 2 relay, in the footsteps of his father, Dictator Moi. Unlike whin athletics where Wendy Sly and Mark Lewis-Francis would pass the baton unceremoniously, Gideon was colorfully handed the baton to continue the relay race of autocracy. This rungu was such a powerful tool used by Moi to extend his iron fist rule in the country during his 24 years reign.
When the rungu was lifted up in 1982, we witnessed the Malka Mari Massacre where over 336 were killed in cold blood and several others disabled.
When the rungu was lifted in 1984, the world witnessed one of the ugliest massacres again targeting the Muslim/Somali community. The Wagalla Massacre claimed over 5,000 lives after days of terror and torture, sitting naked in the hot tarmac at the Wagalla Airstrip.
Moi killed thousands of Muslims and that was the reason his family coached tyrant Philip Leakey, former Langata MP to cool matters today, with the fundraiser he did for a mosque ahead of 1992 – which was a political strategy to ingratiate himself to the Muslim voting constituency. This never worked though – Muslims never voted for Moi and will never vote for any offspring of the tyrant.
Now, this is the baton that has been passed to Gideon. The club (rungu) for pressing balls of dissenting voices. The club for castrating those who disagree in ideology. The tool for torture and terror. The club for grabbing public land. The tool for political assassination. Yes, Gideon inherits the traits of his father officially and is symbolized by the golden rungu – a zigmo for dictatorship.
During Moi’s authoritarian rule, everyone was expected by facts and law, to sing the loyalty pledge to him, even the lobsters and fishes, paid obeisance. Those who defied and agitated for liberation became human amphibians at Moi’s Auschwitz, based at the Nyayo House basement. Raila Odinga, Koigi Wamwere, Willy Mutunga, Wanyiri Kihoro and other regime change crusaders knows how worse than Hitler Moi was.
The death of a dictator should not bring tears to your eyes. The death of a dictator should usher in a democracy and a liberal nation of free press and constitutionalism. Unfortunately, in Africa and the third world where we live, we parade sons of tyrants to inherit the thrones of oppression.
We cheered when Gamal Mubarak took over from tyrant Hosni Mubarak. We cheered when Bashar al Assad took over from tyrant Hafez Assad, who had milked Syria for over 30 years, in a terribly terrible manner. Today, Kenyans are cheering as Gideon Moi takes over the instruments of dictatorship from his dead father, tyrant Gideon Moi.
Dictatorship has nurtured the culture of succession by birth in Africa – not merit based competition. Research shows that the leadership of the tyrants reemerge after a decade of their death.
Uhuru Kenyatta reemerged after some years after his father’s death. His Mauritius opposite number Ian Khama and Botswana’s Ramgoolam are just few examples of the big trees seedlings sprouting after a little time out in the waters and compost of the millions oppressed citizens.
This happens not by fate, but succession in dictatorships have been highly institutionalized and supported by the deep state and the mafia created and fueled by the dictators when they are still alive or in power.
Look, Moi’s choice of Uhuru came to pass and Uhuru’s choice of Gideon will also come to pass?
As Gideon inherits all these deadly traits and instruments of power. As the jeers and cheers go on, am a happy man because Kenya is ready to stop this trend.
William Ruto already took the regional kingship in the Rift. Not after Moi’s death,but when he could still stare and glare. In 2007, Ruto’s candidate Sammy Mwaita defeated Moi’s own son and photocopy Gideon Moi, with about 80% of the votes. In 2013, Moi had to intervene and support the Uhuruto candidature to save his heir apparent from another humiliation. 2017, Simon Chelugui was again repeating the decade long history, before Moi called Uhuru to intervene and promise Chelugui a ministerial position to withdraw from the race.
Gideon’s public inheritance of Moi today doesn’t change the political inclination of the Rift of Peace, but nails the last in his political coffin.
Moving forward, Kenyans must revisit the Transparency International reports on the over 3 billion dollars stashes by the Moi family abroad (Kroll report) and ask Gideon to bring them back in Kabura sacks.
Gideon must tell us about the properties in London, New York, Pretoria, Egypt etc bought using poor Kenyans money. The 10,000 ha ranch owned by the family in Australia, must be repossessed by the state.
We should be mobilizing for a replacement not succession. Africa, oh Africa! Do we need a successor for a brand of ethnic demagoguery, subterfuge and larceny?
In the words of Independent Journalist Gwynne Dyer; “It cannot go on like this forever.”
