Yesterday was the 2 year anniversary of Mzee Moi's demise..let's look back at some history of his informative years.
Moi was born the village of Kuriengwo, located in the Sacho locality in Baringo district (now county). He was educated at mission and government schools. Moi became a teacher at age 21 and in the early 1960s,
Moi's formal educational background consisted of mission and government schools. He received further training at a teacher training college. From there he went on to teach at government training schools. Before he entered politics, his last posting in education was as assistant principal of Tambach Government African Teachers' College.
Moi's father died when Moi was young. His mother raised the family single-handedly but they were poor. Moi's paternal uncle, Senior Chief Kiplabet, arranged for Moi to attend mission schools. Born Toroitich arap Moi, he took the name Daniel when he was baptized at the Karbatonjo mission school. Moi took menial jobs at the mission schools and during his school holidays he herded cattle. He passed his London Matriculation Examination and also got a certificate in public accounting from London through a correspondence course.
Moi's introduction to politics came in 1955 when he was selected to be an African representative to the British colonial Legislative Council, or Legco. In March of 1957 Moi and seven other African members of the Legco formed a lobby group, the African Elected Members' Organisation. Others in the parliamentary pressure group included nationalists Tom Mboyo, Oginga Odinga, and Musinde Muliro.
According to his national identity card, Moi was born Toroitich arap Moi on September 2nd 1924 in Kurieng’wo village, presently Sacho Division, Baringo County. Born 5th to Mr. Kimoi arap Chebii and his senior wife Kabon. President Moi’s father died when he was barely four years old therefore, he spent most of his youthful life under the care of his elder brother Mr. Tuitoek who passionately encouraged him to go to school as a way of running away from poverty and colonial repression.
He joined African Inland Mission School (AIM) Kabartonjo in 1934 where he had to walk 28 miles away from home before it was shifted to Kapsabet. At the African Mission School at Kabartonjo, Moi became a staunch Christian and he was baptized Daniel on 20th October 1938. He later attended Kapsabet Teachers Training College from 1945 to 1947 before joining Kagumo Teachers training college where he graduated and later taught at Tambach Teachers Training College.
In 1950, he pursued a short course at the then Jean School, presently Kenya School of Government and that catapulted him to the position of a headmaster at Government School, Kabarnet where he taught selflessly until 1955 when he joined politics.
His journey to politics
His entry to politics was preceded by a meeting with famous freedom fighters under the command of Brig. Daniel Njuguna who visited him in June 1955. As expected, Moi showed sympathy. He protected and fed the fugitive for two weeks and even gave them money to continue with their course.
In October 1955, the Electoral College selected Moi from a list of eight candidates to fill the position that was left vacant by Joseph Ole Tameno who resigned from the unofficial benches of Legislative Council. Moi plunged himself into active and serious politics though with a resistant heart.
Active, astute and brave, he swiftly adapted and the following year he moved a motion in the legislative council demanding that African teachers be allowed to form their union. This later gave birth to the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) in 1957.
It is important to note that Moi worked devotedly and closely with other leaders like Ronald Ngala, Eliud Mathu and Masinde Muliro in agitating for the release of Jomo Kenyatta.
In 1959, he led a team that visited Jomo Kenyatta in detention at Lodwar, Turkana County. Subsequently, Moi was among the delegations under the auspices of (Kenya African Democratic Union) KADU who went to the London constitutional talks of June 1960.
In 1961, Moi was appointed Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Education. He later served as the Minister for Local Government at the age of 37. As the chairman of KADU, Moi saw the labyrinths of politics and he opted for a united and nationalistic approach hence the dissolution of KADU in November 1964.
In 1967, Jomo Kenyatta appointed Moi as his Vice President at age 43 following the resignation of Mr. Joseph Murumbi. As the Vice President and Minister for Internal Affairs, Moi was a visible politician handling various political crises in a parliament full of independence-era giants such as Martin Shikuku, Jean-Marie Seroney, John Keen and others.
Brought up in a Christian and ardent Kalenjin culture, Moi demonstrated unmatched and inexhaustible tolerance in the face of humiliation. At the time he was a toothless Vice President who was always seen as an outsider in Kenyatta’s exclusively Kikuyu inner circle.
Some of the instances are captured in his authorized biography; The Making of an African Statesman by Andrew Morton. Morton narrates an incident in 1975 when then Vice President Moi had just arrived from an OAU meeting in Uganda, only for the then powerful police commandant James Erustus Mungai to accuse him of bringing guns as part of the conspiracy to oust Jomo Kenyatta.
Mungai is said to have conducted a thorough and humiliating search that involved stripping Moi naked despite being constitutionally Moi’s junior. As if that was not enough, Mungai on two occasions slapped Moi on the face in front of President Kenyatta at Statehouse in Nakuru.
However, Moi swum through the strong political tides and waves and later ascended to power on 22nd August 1978 after the demise of President Jomo Kenyatta.
Moi was born the village of Kuriengwo, located in the Sacho locality in Baringo district (now county). He was educated at mission and government schools. Moi became a teacher at age 21 and in the early 1960s,
Moi's formal educational background consisted of mission and government schools. He received further training at a teacher training college. From there he went on to teach at government training schools. Before he entered politics, his last posting in education was as assistant principal of Tambach Government African Teachers' College.
Moi's father died when Moi was young. His mother raised the family single-handedly but they were poor. Moi's paternal uncle, Senior Chief Kiplabet, arranged for Moi to attend mission schools. Born Toroitich arap Moi, he took the name Daniel when he was baptized at the Karbatonjo mission school. Moi took menial jobs at the mission schools and during his school holidays he herded cattle. He passed his London Matriculation Examination and also got a certificate in public accounting from London through a correspondence course.
Moi's introduction to politics came in 1955 when he was selected to be an African representative to the British colonial Legislative Council, or Legco. In March of 1957 Moi and seven other African members of the Legco formed a lobby group, the African Elected Members' Organisation. Others in the parliamentary pressure group included nationalists Tom Mboyo, Oginga Odinga, and Musinde Muliro.
According to his national identity card, Moi was born Toroitich arap Moi on September 2nd 1924 in Kurieng’wo village, presently Sacho Division, Baringo County. Born 5th to Mr. Kimoi arap Chebii and his senior wife Kabon. President Moi’s father died when he was barely four years old therefore, he spent most of his youthful life under the care of his elder brother Mr. Tuitoek who passionately encouraged him to go to school as a way of running away from poverty and colonial repression.
He joined African Inland Mission School (AIM) Kabartonjo in 1934 where he had to walk 28 miles away from home before it was shifted to Kapsabet. At the African Mission School at Kabartonjo, Moi became a staunch Christian and he was baptized Daniel on 20th October 1938. He later attended Kapsabet Teachers Training College from 1945 to 1947 before joining Kagumo Teachers training college where he graduated and later taught at Tambach Teachers Training College.
In 1950, he pursued a short course at the then Jean School, presently Kenya School of Government and that catapulted him to the position of a headmaster at Government School, Kabarnet where he taught selflessly until 1955 when he joined politics.
His journey to politics
His entry to politics was preceded by a meeting with famous freedom fighters under the command of Brig. Daniel Njuguna who visited him in June 1955. As expected, Moi showed sympathy. He protected and fed the fugitive for two weeks and even gave them money to continue with their course.
In October 1955, the Electoral College selected Moi from a list of eight candidates to fill the position that was left vacant by Joseph Ole Tameno who resigned from the unofficial benches of Legislative Council. Moi plunged himself into active and serious politics though with a resistant heart.
Active, astute and brave, he swiftly adapted and the following year he moved a motion in the legislative council demanding that African teachers be allowed to form their union. This later gave birth to the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) in 1957.
It is important to note that Moi worked devotedly and closely with other leaders like Ronald Ngala, Eliud Mathu and Masinde Muliro in agitating for the release of Jomo Kenyatta.
In 1959, he led a team that visited Jomo Kenyatta in detention at Lodwar, Turkana County. Subsequently, Moi was among the delegations under the auspices of (Kenya African Democratic Union) KADU who went to the London constitutional talks of June 1960.
In 1961, Moi was appointed Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Education. He later served as the Minister for Local Government at the age of 37. As the chairman of KADU, Moi saw the labyrinths of politics and he opted for a united and nationalistic approach hence the dissolution of KADU in November 1964.
In 1967, Jomo Kenyatta appointed Moi as his Vice President at age 43 following the resignation of Mr. Joseph Murumbi. As the Vice President and Minister for Internal Affairs, Moi was a visible politician handling various political crises in a parliament full of independence-era giants such as Martin Shikuku, Jean-Marie Seroney, John Keen and others.
Brought up in a Christian and ardent Kalenjin culture, Moi demonstrated unmatched and inexhaustible tolerance in the face of humiliation. At the time he was a toothless Vice President who was always seen as an outsider in Kenyatta’s exclusively Kikuyu inner circle.
Some of the instances are captured in his authorized biography; The Making of an African Statesman by Andrew Morton. Morton narrates an incident in 1975 when then Vice President Moi had just arrived from an OAU meeting in Uganda, only for the then powerful police commandant James Erustus Mungai to accuse him of bringing guns as part of the conspiracy to oust Jomo Kenyatta.
Mungai is said to have conducted a thorough and humiliating search that involved stripping Moi naked despite being constitutionally Moi’s junior. As if that was not enough, Mungai on two occasions slapped Moi on the face in front of President Kenyatta at Statehouse in Nakuru.
However, Moi swum through the strong political tides and waves and later ascended to power on 22nd August 1978 after the demise of President Jomo Kenyatta.
