Retired President Daniel Moi was almost rendered a fugitive in the 1982 coup, which was engineered by a group of Air Force army men led by Senior Private Hezekiah Ochuka.
The Sunday, 1 August 1982 infamous event was kicked off by the seizure of the Easleigh and Embakasi Barracks, before Ochuka proceeded to declare himself the new President at the state-owned Voice Of Kenya radio.
The early morning event happened while the President was spending his weekend at his Kabarak farm in Nakuru county and he was kept in the dark on the actual situation on the ground until Lieutenant General Lazaro Sumbeiywo, the closest officer to the President and his Aide De Camp at the time, confirmed the situation.
After a quick drive to the Nakuru State House for further confirmation, Sumbeiywo decided that Kabarak was not safe for Moi, in case the rebels tried to attack, and resolved to hide him, with the plan being to drive him to the nearby bushes, according to a Standard publication dated August 1 2013.
The plan, however, faced opposition from Moi, who remained unshaken and refused to leave his home, maintaining that he was ready to face the Airforce guys.
''Hii ni nyumba yangu, niende wapi? (This is my house, why should I leave?)'' Sumbeiywo (now retired) narrated the president's remarks according to the paper.
However, Moi finaly gave in, occupying the front seat of Sumbeiywo's Peugeot 204, with two other vehicles, all white in color (including Sumbeiywo's) packed with heavily armed soldiers for the President's protection.
He was then driven to a section of his vast farm which had a boulevard of eucalyptus trees to protect the team from possible aerial attacks.
An hour later, with no positive communication coming from forces loyal to the President, an agreement was made to drive him further into the bushes to his farm in Solai, Subukia constituency, but this was cut short by a 10 A.M announcement that calm had been restored.
By 1 P.M, Moi was back in Kabarak, after which he left for Nairobi to assure the nation that the government remains intact.
Ochuka was later tried and found guilty of treason and hanged alongside his accomplices in 1987.
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