Retired President Daniel Moi visited United States of America sometimes back in 2002 before his anticipated retirement from active politics.
By then, Moi had ruled Kenya for 24 years and there were fears among the opposition that he might defy the constitution like many of his comrades in Africa and rule forever.
In an interview with Sunday Nation, former powerful Head of Civil Service and Secretary to Cabinet Dr Sally Kosgei vividly remembers intrigues that surrounded the White House meeting.
Moi, Mrs Kosgei says, wanted assurance from the US President George Bush that he will be granted safety after leaving office, owing to the fact the the US influenced succession politics.
In “an act of good faith” after he returned to Kenya, the former President met the top military brass in a symbolic “handover” ahead of the December 2002 General Election to show that he had no intention of clinging on to power, according to his long-serving and trusted official, Dr Sally Kosgei.
“What it meant is that, even if he (Moi) wanted to stay in power, he could barely do so without the military as he had abdicated his duties as the commander in chief of the armed forces,” Dr Kosgei, an insider and powerful figure in the Moi administration, told the Sunday Nation in an exclusive interview.
Things would move further during a meeting in the US where President Moi received an award for conducting a successful vaccination campaign.
“It is during that award ceremony when we made final plans to have the President (Moi) hold a meeting with President Bush at the White House about his succession, safety and protection if he left power willingly,” she recalls.
According to insiders, the former President sought the meeting as they believed that Western nations wielded a lot of influence on political succession, especially in Africa.
Mr Bush’s assurance that the US would guarantee his safety once he handed over power in a peaceful transition emboldened the retired president to proceed with his succession plan.
On Sunday July 28, 2002, Moi declared publicly for the first time that Uhuru Kenyatta, who was then the Local Government minister, was his preferred choice as Kanu’s presidential candidate while addressing a delegation from Lugari constituency.
During the fiercely contested polls, Mwai Kibaki of Narc coalition floored Uhuru, winning the third multiparty elections in Kenya by landslide. Uhuru conceded defeat.
At Uhuru Park, Moi struggled to make speech as he handed over power. He left after Kibaki's swearing-in to his Kabarak home where he lives to date.
Interestingly, his chosen heir apparent, Uhuru Kenyatta, would succeed Mwai Kibaki in 2013. President Uhuru Kenyatta is set to retire in 2022, two decades after Moi's retirement.