With the nation marking exactly the 36th year since the botched 1982 coup today, opposition activist Miguna Miguna has in a strange move lauded the attempt.
The attempt to overthrow retired President Daniel Moi’s government was led and coordinated by Senior Private Hezekiah Ochuka who would later be hanged for treason.
In a tweet Wednesday, Miguna praised the clique of Airforce soldiers who succeeded in ruling the nation for six hours, terming them fearless patriots.
According to Miguna, the group was simply trying to make the nation a better place by liberating it from the hands of Moi, who, according to him, was a dictator.
‘’Today is August 1st, the day fearless patriots at the defunct Kenya Airforce and gallant students at the University of Nairobi attempted to frog march dictator Daniel arap Moi from power. They were murdered while trying to make Kenya a better place to live in,’’ he tweeted.
The Sunday dawn takeover happened while Moi was enjoying his weekend at his Kabarak home in Nakuru county, and was immediately driven into hiding by loyal forces to avoid any harm.
By noon, loyal government forces led by General Mahmoud Mohamed had suppressed the seizure that left close to 100 soldiers and about 200 civilians dead.