The Times - UK (2022-04-28)

the times | Thursday April 28 2022 51

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Husky-voiced Scottish

author of O Caledonia

Elspeth Barker

Page 52

As Mwai Kibaki surveyed the crowds at
his presidential inauguration in 2002, he
told them, “I believe that government
exists to serve the people, not the people
who serve the government.” His land-
slide election victory as the head of a
multi-ethnic coalition had ended
decades of one-party rule in Kenya, in-
cluding 24 years of the unpopular Daniel
arap Moi. Kibaki offered the prospect of
rejuvenating a stalled economy, deliver-
ing a new constitution and stamping out
endemic corruption.
While he made considerable progress
in breathing life into the Kenyan eco-
nomy, he failed to deliver on his promise
to eradicate graft, surrounding himself
with cronies and becoming one of the
country’s richest men during his five
decades in public office.
When he controversially won a
second presidential term in December
2007, his former ally, Raila Odinga, ap-
peared to have been robbed of the pres-
idency through electoral malpractice
by Kibaki’s supporters, and Kenya was
plunged into crisis. In the violence that
ensued more than 1,200 lives were lost
as the country’s rifts were once again
exposed. Gangs rioted and people were
targeted for their ethnicity, with hun-
dreds of rapes and more than 100,000
properties destroyed, according to the
International Criminal Court.
The episode tarnished the reputation
of a man who had been seen, certainly
in the West, as one of Africa’s most
intelligent and pragmatic leaders. A
highly respected economist, he gave up
an academic career to devote himself to
serving an independent Kenya. He
helped to draft the constitution which
governed the country on independence
from Britain in 1963 and was elected to
Kenya’s first independent parliament.
He became commerce minister under
the founding president, Jomo Kenyatta,
and served as finance minister for 13
years from 1970, first under Kenyatta
and then under Moi, his successor.
Serving as Moi’s vice-president for
much of the 1980s, Kibaki gradually fell
out with him and launched his own
Democratic Party, becoming a main
leader of the Kenyan opposition. He
twice stood against Moi, losing in both
1992 (the country’s first multi-party
elections) and 1997 (only narrowly,
amid allegations of fraud). His victory
in 2002 — this time pitted against Moi’s
handpicked successor, Kenyatta’s son,
Uhuru — ended the post-independ-
ence domination of the Kenya African
National Unity party (Kanu).
Emilio Stanley Mwai Kibaki was
born in 1931, the son of a modest tobac-
co trader in Othaya, near Mount Ken-
ya, the heartland of the Kikuyu tribe.
He grew up in a mud hut and initially
attended a village school in Gatuyaini
before spending three years in a Roman
Catholic school run by Italian mission-
aries; he practised the Catholic faith
throughout his life. His early education
focused on learning basic carpentry
and masonry skills, the idea being that
pupils could repair school chairs and
buildings and grow their own food.
Noted for his intellect, he went next
to a prestigious local high school, where
he achieved the highest scores in his
leaving examinations. He was said to
have been eager to join the colonial
army, then one of the few established

routes for advancement for Africans,

but was unable to because of a bar on

recruiting Kikuyu soldiers. The Mau

Mau rebellion against British rule,

which drew many fighters from the

Kikuyu tribe, was already under way

(his brother would be killed in the

uprising). Instead he went to Uganda to

study economics, history and political

science at Makerere University, obtain-

ing a first-class degree followed by a

scholarship to study at the London

School of Economics, where he gradu-

ated with distinction in public finance.

He returned to Uganda in 1958,

working as a lecturer in economics at

Makerere, but with Britain announcing

plans to prepare Kenya for African

majority rule, Kibaki went back to his

homeland in 1960, in time to play a role

in the establishment of the Kanu party.

He quickly won the respect and trust of

Kenyatta, the undisputed symbol of the

independence movement, who had

been charged by the British with

organising the Mau Mau revolt and

held in prison for most of the 1950s.

As Kibaki’s influence increased he

was widely credited for the political and

economic stability achieved in the early

years of independent Kenya. However,

by the time of Kenyatta’s death in 1978

much of the optimism had faded. Ram-

pant corruption, growing unemploy-

ment and ethnic tension based on the

dominance of the Kikuyu people led

many to question Kanu rule. Kibaki was

seemingly more sympathetic to political

change than Moi, Kenyatta’s successor,

and over time relations soured. He was

stripped of the vice-presidency in 1988

and demoted to the health ministry.

With the collapse of communism in cen-

tral and eastern Europe, the pressure for

a multi-party system grew throughout

Africa. Kenya was no exception. When

Moi finally bowed to the pressure, Kib-

aki severed ties with him, announcing

the formation of his own party in 1991.

After his two failed presidential bids,

Kibaki sought to boost votes for the op-

position by allying his party with other

groups to form the National Rainbow

Coalition (Narc). As a result, in 2002

Kibaki won 62 per cent of the vote

against only 31 per cent for the Kanu

candidate, Uhuru Kenyatta. At the age

of 71 he was sworn in as Kenya’s third

president, seated in a wheelchair — the

result of injuries sustained in a car

accident on the campaign trail. He had

to have a blood clot removed from his

leg and there was speculation he had

suffered a stroke shortly afterwards.

It soon became apparent that the

“grand coalition” that had elevated

Kibaki to the presidency was far from

united. Furthermore, there came an

unwelcome distraction in 2004, with

what the Washington Post described as

“a new Kenyan soap opera”, when it was

He was sworn in seated

in a wheelchair — the

result of a car accident

Obituaries

Mwai Kibaki

Scholarly Kenyan president whose time in power helped to revive the economy but was tarnished by corruption, violence and polygamy

revealed that Kibaki had a polygamous

second marriage, to Mary Wambui, with

whom he had a daughter, Wangui. Po-

lygamy is legal in Kenya but his first wife,

Lucy Muthoni, whom he had married in

1961, was none too pleased. He and Lucy

had a daughter, Judy Wanjiku, and three

sons, Jimmy Kibaki, David Kagai and

Tony Githinji. After the revelation the

two women were both seen at state

functions (usually on alternate days)

until they had a public falling-out. Lucy

predeceased him in 2016; his children

and Mary survive.

Few could dispute the success of some

of his policies: economic growth rose

year-on-year, improved infrastructure

opened up new markets, and his deci-

sion to introduce free primary school

education won him support among the

poor and plaudits from abroad, notably

from Bill Clinton.

After a failed attempt to reform the

constitution (critics said his proposals

kept too much power in the hands of the

president), he tried to show he would

tackle corruption by ordering investiga-

tions into past wrongdoings, but no

high-profile figures were convicted.

Moreover, several of his allies were im-

plicated in multimillion-dollar scandals

and in 2005 his anti-corruption chief,

John Githongo, fled to Britain with

evidence of official sleaze that he alleged

went all the way to the presidency.

When Kibaki ran for a second term,

his opponent Odinga’s well-honed ora-

torial skills and promise to defend the

underprivileged contrasted sharply with

the greying and portly Kibaki, who

was an uncomfortable public speaker.

Known for his hands-off style, he was

portrayed by rivals as an aloof charac-

ter who preferred reading PG

Wodehouse novels or playing golf at

Nairobi’s exclusive clubs to governing.

Many regarded him as a perennial

fence-sitter and political chameleon

(he had initially been opposed to a

multi-party system before changing

tack); and his enormous wealth, which

included vast land holdings and inter-

ests in hotels, insurance and farming,

became another election liability.

When he was declared the winner

there was incredulity given that

Odinga appeared to be on the verge of

winning the contest earlier in the

counting and parliamentary elections

at the same time had been a disaster for

many of Kibaki’s supporters.

International observers noted serious

irregularities in the poll. In the days of

violence that followed, Kibaki accused

Odinga of unleashing a genocide

directed against the Kikuyu people;

Odinga, from the Luo tribe, accused

Kibaki of engineering much of the

unrest to distract attention from his

allegedly flawed election victory.

Under acute international pressure,

Kibaki eventually agreed to a power-

sharing deal brokered by Kofi Annan,

the former UN secretary-general, in

which he retained the presidency but

Odinga became prime minister, with

the cabinet split evenly among their

supporters. Constitutional change,

land reform, judicial and security reform

and reducing youth unemployment

were all identified as crucial to address-

ing the ethnic tensions that had under-

pinned the election violence. In one

area, the constitution, a significant

breakthrough came with the approval in

a referendum in August 2010 of a new

document limiting the powers of the

president and granting more authority

to Kenya’s regions.

Still there was no change to the dismal

record of tackling corruption. In 2008

members of the cabinet were accused by

the Kenyan Anti-Corruption Commis-

sion of taking illegal allowances worth

tens of thousands of dollars. Kibaki’s

passivity, advanced years and poor

health added to an impression that he

lacked the energy for the role. His

reliance on a clique of senior peers,

mostly Kikuyus who were nicknamed

the “Mount Kenya Mafia”, only encour-

aged the view that he had become too

remote and out-of-touch with the lives

of ordinary Kenyans. His final years in

office were dominated by the unstable

situation in neighbouring Somalia. In

2011, after several kidnappings of

foreigners on Kenyan soil just across

from the border, he ordered his troops

into Somalia to track down the Islamist

militants who were responsible. Kenya

suffered a number of reprisal attacks.

Having reached the constitutional

limit of two terms, Kibaki stepped down

in April 2013 and was succeeded by the

current president, Uhuru Kenyatta. He

divided his retirement between a plush

mansion in Nairobi and a £2.6 million

country estate.

Mwai Kibaki, president of Kenya, 2002-

2013, was born on November 15, 1931. He

died on April 21, 2022, aged 90

was revealed that Kibaki had a polygamous

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Kibaki in 1974; after the power-sharing co

agreement with his rival Raila Odinga,

right, brokered by the former UN

secretary-general Kofi Annan in 2008;

with his wife Lucy in 2007

KEYSTONE/ALAMY; ANTONY NJUGUNA/REUTERS/ALAMY; SIMON MAINA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES