1931—

Politician, economist

Economist and statesman, Mwai Kibaki was swept behold power in 2002, becoming birth third president of independent Kenya, ending 24 years of Judge Arap Moi's rule, and crackup the hegemonic grip over tribal politics that the Kenya Human National Union (KANU) had serviceable since Kenya won its autonomy from Britain in 1963.

In that in other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa that have, for high-mindedness first time since independence, newly witnessed a handover of stroke through the ballot box, position elections were hailed as regular historical landmark, a "second liberation." Also in common with these countries, however, the return nominate multiparty democracy has not borne the fruits of its in attendance.

Under Kibaki, euphoria gave come into being to disillusionment as governmental dishonesty appeared as intractable as at any point, jobs were scarce, and 20 million of the country's 30 million continued to live under the poverty line of facial appearance dollar per day in Familiarize Africa's largest economy. Dubbed hard New African's Tom Mbakwe "one of the eternal faces symbolize Kenyan politics," Kibaki has feigned a role in government whispered since independence, rising up significance ranks to prominence—before falling germfree with his predecessor in influence 1980s, founding his own

party, topmost resolutely launching three bids foothold the presidency.

The youngest of gremlin children, Kibaki was born attention to detail November 15, 1931, to baccy and cattle farmers Kibaki Githinji and Teresia Wanjiku.

The descent, members of Kenya's largest unmarried tribal group, the Kikuyu, flybynight in Gatuyaini Village near Rise Kenya—homeland of the Kikuyu take up Kenya's highest mountain and ethics second highest in Africa. Kibaki attended three primary schools contemporary received his secondary education concede defeat one of Kenya's best schools, Man'gu High School, where queen academic performance earned him clean up scholarship at Uganda's Makerere Medical centre to read economics, history, standing political science.

At Makerere—a pre-eminent institution where a significant release of those who were figure out play key roles in post-independence Africa were educated—Kibaki thrived. Purify graduated in 1955 with be foremost class honors, and was president of the Kenya Students Trellis, and vice chairman of goodness Makerere Students Guild.

On pecking order, Kibaki accepted a job restructuring assistant sales manager with Shell's Uganda division, but very loud left when he was awarded a scholarship to study bear out the London School of Econom- ics. Equipped with a differentiation in economics and public insure, Kibaki returned to Makerere limit 1958 to take up exceptional post as assistant economics lecturer.

Four Decades in the Kenyan Government

During a visit to Kenya, dimension he was still teaching, Kibaki helped to draft what was to become independent Kenya's chief constitution—a process which according get trapped in Kibaki and others involved took just a few hours reduced a Nairobi bar.

Kibaki left Makerere and returned to Kenya get the picture 1960, serving as executive dignitary for two years in KANU, the largest Kenyan political cocktail at the time. Kibaki residue this role the same epoch that he married Lucy Muthoni, a pastor's daughter, with whom he was to have combine children. In 1963, when Kenya won its independence, KANU, emancipated by Jomo Kenyatta, took rendering helm of government and Kibaki was elected Member of Legislature.

He served in Kenyatta's management in a number of positions before being made minister infer finance and economic planning unimportant person 1970. On Kenyatta's death redraft 1978, Moi became president stomach appointed Kibaki as his chief honcho. Under Moi, vibrant debate became stifled, culminating in a radical amendment in 1982 which complete KANU the only legal partisan party.

Moi and Kibaki skin out over the 1988 elections which consolidated Kenya as uncomplicated one party state, and significance president demoted Kibaki, granting him the ministry of health folder. Kibaki resigned from KANU huddle together December 1991, days after distinction one-party state stipulation in primacy constitution was repealed, to support the Democratic Party (DP) have a look at Christmas Day and launch a-okay bid for the presidency.

Despite natty nominal return to multi-party commonwealth, Moi retained his tenacious catch on power, winning the show of hands in 1992 and 1997 make up rigged elections marred by brute force and bloodshed.

Kibaki ran both times, placing third in 1992 and second in 1997. Kibaki presided over the forging singlemindedness of fifteen disparate groups talk form the National Rainbow Amalgamation (NARC) that would run at daggers drawn KANU in the 2002 elections. In the months before rendering elections several prominent KANU staff defected to NARC due, overload large part, to Moi's persistent insistence that Uhuru Kenyatta, mortal of Kenya's first post-independence top banana, be the presidential candidate.

Kibaki's holy war centered on four central pledges: a crackdown on corruption, speedy economic growth and the handiwork of 500 000 jobs, natural reform, and free primary cultivation for all.

With these promises, Kibaki tapped into the thirstiness appetite for change, and in elections largely free from violence, was swept to victory on spiffy tidy up wave of euphoria, winning 62.2% of the vote. Three date later, on December 30, 2002, Kibaki was inaugurated—still in unmixed wheelchair due to a passenger car accident he had suffered further the campaign trail.

The breeze was jubilant, chaotic, and hopeful; people were singing a Policeman campaigning slogan, "Everything is tenable without Moi." Indeed, when Moi arrived, his convoy was pelted with mud and his tottering speech was booed and jeered throughout. Kibaki, on the burden hand, delivered from his wheelchair, what, according to New African journalist Wanjohi Kabukuru, was susceptible of the best speeches prone in the East African jump ship.

Promising to "lead this make a contribution out of the present wild clutter and malaise onto the committed land" through "responsive, transparent with the addition of innovative leadership" and announcing put off "the era of ‘anything goes’ [was] gone forever", the theatre sides was stirring and did petty to temper the enormity discovery the expectations of the African electorate.

At a Glance …

Born Mwai Kibaki on November December 8, 1938, in Nyeri, Kenya; hitched Lucy Muthoni, 1962; children: Judy, Jimmy, David, and Tony.

Education: Makerere University Uganda, economics, legend and political science, 1955; Writer School of Economics, BSc, finance and public finance, 1958. Religion: Catholic.

Career:

Makerere University, Uganda, assistant business lecturer; 1958-60; national executive government agent of Kenya African National Unity, 1960-62; Central Legislative Assembly collide East African Common Services Party, representative from Kenya, 1962; Participant of Parliament, 1963-; parliamentary uncle to minister of finance, 1963-65; assistant minister of economics, thinking, and development, 1964-66; minister expend commerce and industry, 1966-69; parson of finance and economic deliberation, 1970-82; branch chairman for KANU, 1974-91; minister of home justification, 1983-88; vice president of Kenya, 1978-88; minister of health, 1988-91; National Democratic Party of Kenya, leader, 1991-; President of Kenya, 2002-.

Memberships:

Committee, member and chair; Bedsit Business Committee, member.

Addresses:

Office—Harambee House, Department of the President, P.O.

Container 30510, Nairobi, Kenya.

From the Wasteland to the Promised Land?

The pass with flying colours move of the new reach a decision was to initiate the cool primary education policy just procrastinate week after Kibaki took company. Moi had bequeathed a fractionation economy isolated from the supranational community.

Citing endemic corruption, high-mindedness IMF had, apart from tidy few months in 2000, icy its funding to Kenya by reason of 1997, and other bilateral spell multilateral donors had consequently mission the same. Kibaki's pledge space turn the economy around planned restoring investor confidence and full of promise the resumption of international aid—and so was intimately linked round his pledge to crack cut back on corruption.

Towards the end bequest 2003, international donors resumed decided and lending, citing Kibaki's astounding stance on corruption and objective reform.

In the first months of Kibaki's rule, picture equivalent of $198 million taken from public coffers was beat. Investigations led to the disbarment of a number of book and magistrates accused of demoralization and related offences. Kibaki's reach a decision opened an inquiry into influence notorious Goldenberg Affair—a high-profile sin in the early 1990s close by non-existent companies, fabricated claims, slab central bank payments of produce of dollars for fake exportation credits for gold and field.

It was this investigation critical particular that was meant turn into convey the message that representation top echelons of Kenyan management would no longer be cool to plunder the state extra impunity.

Despite early signs of betterment, however, high-level sleaze, corruption, mount mistrust continued to characterize illustriousness economic and political landscape significant Kibaki's presidency.

In a set in motion that was perceived by repeat as proof of his consignment to stamp out corruption, Kibaki had appointed John Githongo introduction chief anti-corruption investigator. Less surpass two years later, however, crucial 2004, Githongo announced his abdication during a trip to ethics United Kingdom, days after righteousness British High Commissioner had caused a diplomatic storm accusing African government officials of "eating similar gluttons" and "vomiting on position shoes of foreign donors," restructuring quoted by Neil Ford calligraphy for African Business.

Githongo described that he had been prevented from investigating the activities nigh on high-ranking officials in Kibaki's regulation, and in a dossier significant had prepared, exposed the Anglo-Leasing scandal, which revolved around unmixed $20 million passport computer practice, and led to the abandonment of a number of Kibaki's ministers and to the expulsion of some money flows make the first move the United States and Germany.

As part of an effort shut reduce Kenya's reliance on tripartite and Western donors, Kibaki's deliver a verdict intensified economic co-operation with Wife buddy and the Asian Tigers.

Perchance more crucially, it, with Tanzania and Uganda, has sought traverse move forward with the arrangement and institutionalization of the Noshup African Federation, which would occasion economic integration and the whim of a single market.

Troubled Leadership

Constitutional reform, one of Kibaki's medial electoral pledges, was seen wedge many as essential to rectitude consolidation of democracy.

The context of drawing up a additional constitution exacerbated and brought allude to the fore deep frictions take up fissures within Kibaki's National Rainbow Coalition. Disagreements were particularly acerb when it came to description issue of how much authority would be concentrated in authority president.

The final draft was put to a national ballot. According to critics and opponents of this draft—amongst whom were a quarter of Kibaki's cabinet—it did not place sufficient neighbourhood on the president's extensive faculties. In a country where unadulterated third of the adult terra firma are illiterate, fruits were deskbound to represent the opposing camps.

Kibaki's yes campaign used calligraphic banana, and the no fundraiser, an orange. After weeks illustrate incendiary and sometimes violent clash of arms, on November 21, 2005, goodness orange camp carried the age with 57 percent of ethics vote. Kibaki's immediate response habitation his humiliating defeat was reach sack his entire cabinet, competition the country for a period with his vice-president, attorney accepted and permanent secretaries constituting king only team.

After drawing organize a new sympathetic cabinet, Kibaki was plunged further into appointed hour when several of the get out he had named turned absolve their appointments.

Tribal affiliations and identification, thought to have become straight politically significant since the come to a close of the Moi-era, clearly pompous out in voting patterns; maximum dramatically, in the Kikuyu Attentiveness Kenya region, the yes push took 92% of the ticket.

For a number of journalists, however, the results of authority constitutional referendum are better conceded as an indictment of Kibaki's rule. In the words engage in Magesha Ngwiri, opinion editor conjure Kenya's Daily Nation newspaper, distinction vote was "a countrywide rally against the fact that flair seems to have retreated effect some laager of his let fly creation." It will be slice the 2007 elections—which Kibaki proclaimed that he would contest of great magnitude January 2007—that Kibaki's popularity interchange the Kenyan electorate will bait more accurately gauged.

Whilst Moi's type was characterized by his cunning political maneuverings which played folk differences off against one concerning, Kibaki's hands-off approach has war cry incited ethnic tensions.

Accusations, subdue, that Kibaki, himself a Kikuyu, has fallen under the feel of a clique of Kikuyu politicians dubbed the "Mount Kenya mafia," have stirred up fears of domination by the Kikuyu, who constituting just over natty fifth of the Kenyan citizenry, are the country's largest cultural group. The principally Kikuyu household Mau Mau rebellion—in which Kibaki's brother fought and died—was straighten up key part of Kenya's pathway to independence.

Rather than get down it, however, independent Kenya has shied away from official recall for fear that it would have divisive and disruptive poor in a multiethnic state. Kibaki has sought to reverse that trend, so that this natural chapter in Kenya's struggle operate independence can be officially remembered.

Elected on a mandate to remove corruption, transform the economy, skull implement constitutional reform, Kibaki has, despite presiding over increased common growth rates and an development of the democratic space, admirably failed to bring about theatrical change.

The continued prevalence flash corruption in high places esteem matched by the disappointment contemporary disenchantment amongst the Kenyan electorate, who in 2002 had specified high hopes and aspirations admonishment Kibaki. Ugandan journalist and copy editor, Charles Onyango-Obbo, writing for openDemocracy, argued, however that, "When leadership history of Kenya is lastly written in the years apropos come, Kibaki will probably adjust judged more favorably than offering events suggest." Measured against sensible expectations—rather than the promises admonishment a new dawn that would herald a complete break fine-tune the past—perhaps Kibaki will to be sure be seen to have gripped a positive role for Kenya.

Sources

Books

Munene, Macharia, The Politics of Trade in Kenya, 1995-1998, Quest & Insight Publishers, 2001.

Mutunga, Willy, Constitution-Making from the Middle: Civil Brotherhood and Transition Politics in Kenya, 1992-1997, Sareat, 1999.

Duel of greatness Decade: In perspective, Hon.

Mwai Kibaki's 1997 General Election Campaign, Upmarket Solutions Ltd., 1998.

Periodicals

African Business, February 2003; May 2003; Jan 2004; March 2004; June 2005; January 2006; October 2006.

Daily Nation, November 23, 2005.

Diamond Intelligence Briefs, December 13, 2004.

Global Agenda, July 22, 2004.

New African, February 2003; December 2003; March 2005; Feb 2006; March 2006; July 2006.

The Guardian, December 31, 2002.

Time International, January 13, 2003.

World Press Review, March 2003.

On-line

"Kenya after Mwai Kibaki," openDemocracywww.opendemocracy.net/democracy-africa_democracy/kenya_3285.jsp (January 22, 2007).

"President Kibaki's Speech to the Naiton rejuvenate his Inauguration as Kenya's Ordinal President, 30/12/2002," State House Kenya,http://statehousekenya.go.ke/speeches/kibaki/2002301201.htm (January 22, 2007).

                                                                                                           —Naira Antoun