Former President Daniel Arap Moi sparked political criticisms when he picked President Uhuru Kenyatta as his replacement.
Before Moi settled on Uhuru, many people, politicians and ordinary Kenyans thought that it was Professor George Saitoti who deserved to take after him.
However, the retired President surprised many by settling on the son of the founding father, Uhuru.
According to a former Kanu insider who worked for Moi for years in different positions including leading the powerful National Security Ministry, Julius Sunkuli, Moi killed two birds with a single stone when he picked Uhuru.
Sunkuli who spoke to Sunday Nation said that Moi believed settling on Uhuru would make the country stable and as a way of rewarding the Kenyatta family.
“By picking Uhuru Kenyatta, Moi killed two birds with one stone. First, he handed over power to the Kenyatta family and second, he believed that Kenya could remain stable by handing over the presidency to a community which was the most dominant politically, economically and in government,” he said as quoted by Nation.
Sunkuli further said that Moi himself had at some point mentored Uhuru, which increased his (Moi's) believe, in the young politician then.
“He knew all Mzee Kenyatta’s children personally. He had watched Uhuru grow up from a young child and he believed that he was the right scion to take over. He had also mentored him for a long time and he believed that Uhuru was capable of holding the Central Kenya people together,” he said.
Uhuru Kenyatta could not win the election in 2002 after Moi endorsed him and only ascended to power ten years later after teaming up with William Ruto