Former Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi is dead at age 95
NAIROBI, Kenya — Daniel arap Moi, a former schoolteacher who became Kenya’s longest-serving president and led the East African nation through years of repression and economic turmoil fueled by runaway corruption, died Tuesday at age 95.
Moi succeeded Kenya’s founding president, Jomo Kenyatta, in 1978 and ruled for 24 years. His death was announced by Kenyatta’s son and current president, Uhuru Kenyatta, who called him a leader in the struggle for Kenyan independence and an ardent Pan-Africanist.
Moi died peacefully at a private hospital in Nairobi, said his son, Sen. Gideon Moi.
His critics called him a dictator for his authoritarian style, although Moi enjoyed strong support from many Kenyans and was seen as a unifying figure when he took over after the death of Jomo Kenyatta, who had led the country following its independence from Britain in 1963.
Some of Kenyatta’s allies had tried to change the constitution to prevent then-Vice President Moi from succeeding him. Moi was so wary of threats at the time that he fled his Rift Valley home when he learned of Kenyatta’s death, returning only after receiving assurances of his safety.
In 1982, Moi’s government pushed through parliament a constitutional amendment that made Kenya effectively a one-party state. Later that year, the army quelled a coup attempt by opposition members and some air force officers. At least 159 people were killed.
Although Kenya was known for its stability, Moi’s government became more repressive in dealing with dissent, according to a report by the government’s Truth Justice and Reconciliation Commission that assessed his rule. Political activists and others who dared oppose him were routinely detained, tortured and killed, the report said, including the death of a foreign...