Moi backs Kibaki re-election
2007-08-28 21:20
Nairobi - Kenya's influential former leader Daniel arap Moi said on Tuesday he would back President Mwai Kibaki in his bid for re-election this year, further boosting the incumbent's chances of winning the vote.
Kibaki swept to power with a landslide victory in 2002 elections, ending 40 years of rule by Moi's Kenya African
National Union, which had led the country since independence from Britain in 1963.
"After very careful assessment, informed by my political
experience spanning half a century, I am convinced that Mwai
Kibaki ought to be given the chance to complete the
constitutionally accepted two-term tenure," Moi told a rare news
conference at his home in Nairobi.
Moi stepped down in 2002 after a 24-year rule that was
characterised by the torture of political opponents and graft
that nearly ruined east Africa's biggest economy.
'Professor of politics'
But he still commands great respect from Kenyans across the
country, especially in his home province, the Rift Valley.
Kibaki has not yet formally declared his candidacy for the
December elections, and Moi's endorsement came after months of
speculation that the two men were plotting a political alliance.
In July, Kibaki appointed Moi as a special peace envoy to
Sudan to help facilitate a peace deal in southern Sudan where
Kenya has strong economic interests.
On Tuesday, Moi - who once referred to himself as a "professor of politics" - criticised opposition presidential
candidates who he said lacked nationalist ideals and were
focused only on ethnic issues.
"I must say that I am disappointed in the tribalism and
selfish individual interests that have been entrenched in our
society," Moi said.
He especially criticised the opposition Orange Democratic
Movement, which split into two factions this month.
With four months to go before the presidential and
parliamentary vote, Kibaki leads in several opinion polls,
followed by two opposition rivals, veteran firebrand Raila Odinga and former Foreign Minister Kalonzo Musyoka.