Not much is known about Leonard Yator, the man who served former President Daniel Moi in the capacity of personal bodyguard all through his vice-presidential and presidential tenure.
Yator who joined the colonial police force aged only 20 grew to become Moi's personal bodyguard when he was Mzee Jomo Kenyatta's vice and served him upto two years to his retirement from the presidency.
He says that the job was not easy, and was at some point tested.
Such an instance come when Moi visited Libyan capital Tripoli, where he almost landed in the hands of rowdy youths allied to then Libyan dictator Muhammar Gaddafi.
This was in November 1982, and Moi was leaving the conference hall after an Organization of African Union (OAU) event, when the boys charged at him chanting Arabic slogans.
Sensing danger and determined to protect the life of his boss, Yator drew his two pistols, jumped in between Moi and the crowd and readied himself for anything.
“The unruly mob was dangerously moving in our direction screaming and hurling insults at President Moi in Arabic. The President’s safety was threatened and I had to act.
I drew my two pistols and stood between the President and the unruly youths, my fingers on the trigger," he told Nation journalist Kamau Ngotho earlier in the year.
He said that this happened only moments after Moi had refused to hand over the OAU Chairmanship to Gaddafi, owing to lack of quorum.
This was because only half of 34 member countries were represented in the forum, but Gaddafi had pressured Moi to hand over anyway.
He adds that it took the intervention of Gadaffi, who wad chattinf with Ethiopian leader Haile Mengitsu to calm the group down.
"President Gaddafi, who was just next to us chatting up Ethiopian leader Mengistu Haile Mariam, sensed danger and quickly waved his boys away," he added.
Yator says that so infuriated was Moi on his plane back home that he vowed not to hand over the position at all and true to his words, Moi handed over the position to Haile in Addis Ababa instead.