Mwai Kibaki

3.1. Early Political Activities and KANU Involvement

In early 1960, Mwai Kibaki left his assistant lecturer position at Makerere University to enter politics, taking up the role of executive officer of the Kenya African National Union (KANU) at the request of Thomas Joseph Mboya, who was then KANU's secretary general. Kibaki played a crucial role in drafting Kenya's independence constitution at the Lancaster House Conferences.

In 1963, Kibaki was elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) for the Doonholm Constituency (later called Bahati and now known as Makadara) in Nairobi. This marked the beginning of his extensive political career, which saw him serve as an MP for 50 consecutive years until 2013, making him the longest-serving MP in Kenya's history. Also in 1963, Kibaki was appointed Permanent Secretary for the Treasury. He rapidly ascended through government ranks, becoming Assistant Minister of Finance and chairman of the Economic Planning Commission in 1963, and then Minister of Commerce and Industry in 1966. In 1969, he was appointed Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, a position he held until 1982. In 1974, facing stiff competition for his Doonholm Constituency seat from Jael Mbogo, whom he had narrowly and controversially defeated in 1969, Kibaki shifted his political base from Nairobi to his rural home in Othaya. He was subsequently re-elected as MP for Othaya in all general elections from 1979 to 2007. The same year, Time magazine recognized him as one of the top 100 people in the world with the potential to lead.

3.2. Cabinet Minister and Vice President

When Daniel arap Moi succeeded Jomo Kenyatta as President of Kenya in 1978, Kibaki was elevated to the Vice Presidency. He retained the influential Finance portfolio until 1982, when President Moi reassigned him to the Ministry of Home Affairs. Notably, in 1978, Kibaki had declined an offer to become a World Bank Vice President for Africa, opting instead to continue his political career in Kenya. He is widely regarded as one of Kenya's most effective and consequential finance ministers. Later, as President, he maintained a close oversight of the treasury and directly influenced key economic policies, contributing to steady economic growth.

Kibaki eventually fell out of favor with President Moi in March 1988, losing his position as Vice President and being moved to the less prominent Ministry of Health, where he served until 1991. Kibaki's political style during these years was often described as gentlemanly and non-confrontational. This approach sometimes drew criticism, with some suggesting he was spineless or even cowardly for avoiding strong stances; a popular joke claimed he "never saw a fence he didn't sit on." Kenneth Matiba famously referred to him as "General Kiguoya," meaning "the fearful one" in the Kikuyu language, for his refusal to resign from the KANU government and join the opposition after his demotion from the vice presidency in 1988. At the time, he projected himself as a loyal stalwart of the ruling single party, KANU. In the months leading up to the reintroduction of multi-party politics in 1992, he infamously declared that advocating for multi-party democracy and attempting to dislodge KANU from power was like "trying to cut down a fig tree with a razor blade."

3.3. Opposition Activities and Presidential Campaigns

It was therefore a considerable surprise when Mwai Kibaki resigned from the government and left KANU on Christmas Day in December 1991, just days after the repeal of Section 2A of the then Constitution of Kenya, which restored the multi-party system of government. Soon after his resignation, Kibaki founded the Democratic Party (DP) and entered the presidential race for the upcoming multi-party elections in 1992.

Kibaki was initially seen as one of the leading contenders among President Moi's challengers. However, his support predominantly came from Kikuyu voters, as the election was heavily contested along ethnic lines, confirming predictions made by both Moi and political analysts regarding the return of multi-partyism. In the 1992 presidential elections, Kibaki finished third. Despite the opposition collectively receiving more than two-thirds of the vote, their fragmentation allowed President Moi and KANU to retain power. He then came second to Moi in the 1997 elections, where Moi once again defeated a divided opposition to secure the presidency. Following the 1997 elections, Kibaki joined the third-placed Raila Odinga in accusing President Moi of rigging the polls, and both opposition leaders boycotted Moi's swearing-in for his fifth term in office. From 1998 to 2002, Kibaki served as the Leader of the Official Opposition in Parliament.

3.4. 2002 Election Victory

In preparation for the 2002 elections, Kibaki's Democratic Party initially affiliated with several other opposition parties to form the National Alliance of Kenya (NAK). A pivotal moment occurred when a group of disgruntled KANU presidential aspirants, overlooked by outgoing President Moi who had nominated Uhuru Kenyatta (son of founding Father Jomo Kenyatta) as the KANU presidential candidate, quit KANU in protest. They swiftly formed the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). The NAK and LDP subsequently combined to form the broad-based National Rainbow Coalition (NARC). On 14 October 2002, at a massive opposition rally in Uhuru Park, Nairobi, Kibaki was nominated as the NARC opposition alliance presidential candidate after Raila Odinga famously declared, "Kibaki Tosha!" (a Swahili phrase meaning "Kibaki [is] enough").

On 3 December 2002, while on his way back to Nairobi from a campaign meeting at Machakos junction, approximately 25 mile ^{(40 km)} from Nairobi, Kibaki was involved in a road accident. He sustained fracture injuries and was hospitalized, first in Nairobi and then in London. Following the accident, he relied on a wheelchair for several months after becoming president. For the remainder of his life, he walked somewhat awkwardly due to these injuries. The rest of his presidential campaign was carried out in his absence by his NARC colleagues, led by Raila Odinga and Kijana Wamalwa (who later became Vice President). They campaigned tirelessly for Kibaki, with Odinga stating, "The captain has been injured in the field... but the rest of the team shall continue." On 27 December 2002, Kibaki and NARC achieved a landslide victory over KANU, with Kibaki securing 62% of the votes in the presidential elections, significantly ahead of KANU candidate Uhuru Kenyatta, who received 31%.

4.1. Inauguration and Leadership Style

On 30 December 2002, still recovering from injuries sustained in the motor vehicle accident and in a wheelchair, Mwai Kibaki was sworn in as the third President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Kenya. The ceremony took place before thousands of jubilant supporters at the historic Uhuru Park in Nairobi. At his inauguration, Kibaki emphatically expressed his opposition to government corruption, declaring, "Government will no longer be run on the whims of individuals." His swearing-in marked the end of four decades of KANU rule, the party that had governed Kenya since its independence. Daniel arap Moi, who had been in power for 24 years, thus began his retirement.

President Kibaki's leadership style was distinct from his predecessors. He adopted a low-key, publicity-averse approach, fitting his image as a highly intelligent and competent technocrat. Unlike past leaders, he never sought to establish a personality cult: his portrait was not ubiquitous on Kenyan currency, nor were numerous streets, places, or institutions named after him. State-sanctioned praise songs were not composed in his honor, and news bulletins did not routinely dominate with reports of his daily presidential activities. He also largely avoided the populist sloganeering common among previous leaders. This "hands-off," leadership-by-delegation style, while allowing his ministers considerable freedom to manage their departments and introduce reforms, also contributed to a perception of his governments, particularly at the cabinet level, as at times dysfunctional, and earned him the image of a seemingly aloof, withdrawn technocrat or intellectual, leading to criticism that he was out of touch with the public.

4.2. First term health issues

It is widely acknowledged that Kibaki's age and the severe car accident in 2002 impacted his performance, transforming the witty, sporty, and eloquent figure of earlier years. A man who could deliver lengthy and elaborate contributions in Parliament without notes became reliant on reading speeches at every public forum. In late January 2003, it was announced that the President had been admitted to Nairobi Hospital to have a blood clot, an after-effect of his car accident, removed from his leg. He appeared visibly incoherent when addressing the public outside the hospital on TV, leading to speculation that he had suffered a second stroke, with the first rumored to have occurred in the 1970s. His subsequent ill health significantly diminished his performance during his first term, and it is believed that government affairs during this period were largely managed by a group of loyal aides, both within and outside the government. Kibaki's health issues were evident, for instance, when he appeared live on TV on 25 September 2003 to appoint Moody Awori as Vice President following the death in office of Vice President Michael Wamalwa Kijana.

4.3. Key Policies and Initiatives

President Kibaki's administration implemented several key policies and initiatives aimed at national development and improving the lives of Kenyans, focusing on education, economic growth, and infrastructure.

4.3.3. Infrastructure Development

A major focus of Kibaki's presidency was the significant investment in infrastructure development. Ambitious projects, such as the Thika Superhighway, which would have been considered unattainable during the previous Moi years, were completed. This period saw earnest rebuilding, modernization, and expansion of the country's infrastructure, aimed at improving connectivity, facilitating economic activities, and modernizing the nation. Development initiatives were resumed across all areas of the country, including the hitherto neglected and largely undeveloped semi-arid or arid northern regions.

The telecommunications sector experienced a boom during his tenure, and numerous state corporations that had collapsed during the Moi years were successfully revived and began operating profitably. Kenyan cities and towns also underwent positive renewal and transformation. The Constituency Development Fund (CDF) was introduced in 2003 to support constituency-level, grassroots development projects. This fund was designed to ensure the equitable distribution of development resources across all regions and to mitigate imbalances in regional development often caused by partisan politics. CDF specifically targeted projects aimed at combating poverty at the grassroots level. It facilitated the construction of new water, health, and education facilities, including in remote areas that had traditionally been overlooked in national budget allocations. The CDF program marked an initial step towards the devolved system of government introduced by the 2010 Constitution, which constitutionally redesigned, enhanced, and strengthened local government structures.

The Kibaki administration also saw a reduction in Kenya's dependence on Western donor aid, with the country increasingly financing its development through internally generated resources, particularly increased tax revenue collection. Relations with non-Western powers, especially the People's Republic of China and Japan, but also with Asian Tigers like Malaysia and Singapore, Brazil, countries in the Middle East, and to a lesser extent, South Africa, Libya, and Iran, improved and expanded remarkably. These nations became increasingly important economic partners for Kenya.

4.4. 2005 Constitutional Referendum and Cabinet Reshuffle

The 2005 Kenyan constitutional referendum was held on 21 November 2005. The primary point of contention in the constitutional review process was the extent of power to be vested in the Kenyan Presidency. Earlier drafts had included provisions for European-style power-sharing between a ceremonial president, elected by universal suffrage, and an executive prime minister, elected by Parliament, aiming to prevent a concentration of power. However, the draft presented by Attorney General Amos Wako for the referendum retained sweeping powers for the Presidency.

Although President Kibaki strongly supported the proposed constitution, several members of his own cabinet, predominantly from the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) wing led by Raila Odinga, allied with the main opposition party, KANU, to mobilize a powerful "NO" campaign. This grassroots opposition resulted in a significant majority of 58% of voters rejecting the draft constitution.

As a direct consequence of this referendum loss, President Kibaki took a drastic step on 23 November 2005, dismissing his entire cabinet mid-term. This move was widely understood as an effort to remove all Raila-allied ministers from his government. Kibaki explained his decision by stating, "Following the results of the referendum, it has become necessary for me, as the President of the Republic, to re-organize my government to make it more cohesive and better able to serve the people of Kenya." The only members of the cabinet spared were the Vice President and Minister of Home Affairs, Moody Awori, and the Attorney General, whose position is constitutionally protected. A new cabinet, consisting of Kibaki loyalists and including some Members of Parliament from the opposition, was subsequently appointed and termed the Government of National Unity (GNU). However, some MPs who were offered ministerial positions declined to take up their posts.

A report by the Kenyan Commission of Inquiry, known as the Waki Commission, later provided context to these events. It reported that Kibaki, after agreeing to an informal Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to create the post of Prime Minister, had reneged on this pact after being elected. The commission cited criticism that Kibaki neglected his pre-election agreement, leading the public to perceive this as an attempt by the Kibaki Government to "keep power to itself rather than share it."

4.5. 2007 Election and Post-Election Violence

On 26 January 2007, President Kibaki declared his intention to run for re-election in the 2007 Kenyan presidential election. On 16 September 2007, he announced that he would stand as the candidate of a new alliance, the Party of National Unity (PNU), which incorporated all parties supporting his re-election. This alliance included a significantly diminished former ruling KANU, the DP, Narc-Kenya, Ford-Kenya, Ford People, and Shirikisho. Kibaki's main opponent, Raila Odinga, had leveraged the victory in the 2005 constitutional referendum to launch the ODM, which nominated him as its presidential candidate for the 2007 elections. On 30 September 2007, President Kibaki officially launched his presidential campaign at Nyayo Stadium, Nairobi. Subsequently, Kalonzo Musyoka broke away from Odinga's ODM to mount his own presidential bid, thereby narrowing the contest primarily between the incumbent Kibaki and Odinga. Opinion polls leading up to election day showed Kibaki trailing Odinga nationally but closing the gap. Regionally, he was projected to win most votes in Central Province, Embu, and Meru, and was behind Kalonzo Musyoka in Musyoka's native Ukambani.

The election results, announced three days later after a protracted count, were highly contentious and sparked the 2007-2008 Kenyan crisis. Presidential results from Kibaki's Central Kenya region came in last, allegedly inflated, amidst a cloud of suspicion and rising tensions. There were vehement protests by Odinga's ODM, overnight re-tallying of results, and chaotic scenes, all broadcast live on TV from the national tallying center at the Kenyatta International Conference Center in Nairobi. Riot police eventually sealed off the tallying center, evicting party agents, observers, and the media. The Chairman of the Electoral Commission, Samuel Kivuitu, was moved to another room, where he declared Kibaki the winner with 4,584,721 votes against Odinga's 4,352,993, giving Kibaki a lead of approximately 232,000 votes. Kalonzo Musyoka finished a distant third.

Within an hour of the announcement, in a hastily convened dusk ceremony, Kibaki was sworn in at State House, Nairobi for his second term. He defiantly called for the "verdict of the people" to be respected and for "healing and reconciliation" to begin. This swift swearing-in immediately escalated tensions, leading to widespread protests by a large number of Kenyans who felt that Kibaki had refused to respect the will of the people and was forcibly retaining office. Odinga bitterly accused Kibaki of electoral fraud, and his allegations resonated with his supporters, appearing credible as the results defied pre-election polls and election-day exit polls. Furthermore, Odinga, who had campaigned against the concentration of political power in the hands of Kikuyu politicians, had won the votes of most other Kenyan ethnic groups and regions. Kibaki's victory, in contrast, was largely achieved with the near-exclusive support of the populous Kikuyu, Meru, and Embu communities, who had turned out in large numbers after feeling increasingly besieged and threatened by pro-Odinga groups, subtly encouraged by the Kibaki campaign. The ODM had also won a significant majority of parliamentary and local authority seats. A joint statement by the British Foreign Office and Department for International Development cited "real concerns" over irregularities, while international observers refused to declare the election free and fair. The European Union's chief observer, Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, noted one constituency where monitors observed official results for Kibaki that were 25,000 votes lower than the figure subsequently announced by the Electoral Commission, leading him to doubt the accuracy of the announced results.

It was reported that Kibaki, previously seen as an "old-school gentleman," had "revealed a steely side" by swearing himself in within an hour of being declared the victor of the highly contested election. Odinga's supporters announced he would be declared president at a rival ceremony, but police banned the event. Koki Muli, head of the local watchdog, the Institute of Education in Democracy, described the day as the "saddest...in the history of democracy in this country" and a "coup d'etat."

Opposition supporters viewed the outcome as a plot by Kibaki's Kikuyu tribe, Kenya's largest, to maintain power by any means. The ethnic groups that perceived themselves as having lost the election were frustrated by the prospect of five years without political power, and anti-Kikuyu sentiment swelled. This fueled the 2007-2008 Kenyan crisis, as widespread ethnic violence erupted in several parts of the country. The violence was initially triggered by ODM supporters protesting the "stealing" of their "victory" and subsequently escalated as targeted Kikuyus retaliated. There were widespread reports of theft, vandalism, looting, destruction of property, and a significant number of atrocities, including killings (with over 1,500 lives lost) and sexual violence. As unrest spread, television and radio stations were instructed to cease all live broadcasts.

The violence persisted for over two months, with Kibaki governing with a partial cabinet he had appointed, and Odinga and the ODM refusing to recognize him as president. When the election was eventually investigated by the Independent Review Commission (IREC) on the 2007 Elections, chaired by Justice Johann Kriegler, it found that there were too many electoral malpractices from several regions, perpetrated by all contesting parties, to conclusively establish which candidate won the December 2007 Presidential elections. These malpractices included widespread bribery, vote buying, intimidation, and ballot stuffing by both sides, as well as incompetence from the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK), which was shortly thereafter disbanded by the new Parliament.

4.6. National Accord and Grand Coalition Government

The country was ultimately saved from further escalation by the mediation efforts of United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, supported by a panel of "Eminent African Personalities," and backed by the African Union, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

Following this mediation, a deal, known as the National Accord, was signed in February 2008 between Raila Odinga and Kibaki, who were then referred to as the "two Principals." The accord, subsequently passed by the Kenyan Parliament as the National Accord and Reconciliation Act 2008, provided for a power-sharing arrangement. Under this agreement, Kibaki remained President, while Raila Odinga assumed a newly re-created post of Prime Minister.

On 17 April 2008, Raila Odinga was sworn in as Prime Minister of Kenya, alongside a power-sharing Cabinet. This cabinet comprised 42 ministers and 50 assistant ministers, making it Kenya's largest ever. The cabinet was meticulously balanced, consisting of fifty percent Kibaki-appointed ministers and fifty percent Raila-appointed ministers, reflecting a carefully constructed ethnic coalition. This arrangement, which also included Kalonzo Musyoka as Vice President, became known as the "Grand Coalition Government," designed to resolve the post-election crisis and foster national reconciliation.

4.7. Economic Legacy: Turnaround and Growth

The Kibaki presidency set itself the primary goal of reviving and transforming the country's economy after years of stagnation and economic mismanagement during the Moi tenure. This formidable task faced several significant challenges, including the lingering aftermath of the Moi Presidency (known as the Nyayo Era), Western donor fatigue, the President's own ill health during his first term, political tensions culminating in the break-up of the NARC coalition, the devastating 2007-2008 post-election violence, the global financial crisis of 2007-2008, and a frequently tenuous relationship with his coalition partner, Raila Odinga, during his second term.

President Kibaki, an economist whose previous term as Finance Minister in the 1970s is widely celebrated as outstanding, achieved considerable success in repairing the damage done to Kenya's economy during his predecessor's 24-year reign. Compared to the Moi years, Kenya experienced significantly improved governance, managed by more competent public sector personnel, and underwent substantial transformation.

Kenya's economy during the Kibaki years experienced a major turnaround. GDP growth picked up from a low of 0.6% (with a real contraction of -1.6%) in 2002 to 3% in 2003, 4.9% in 2004, 5.8% in 2005, 6% in 2006, and reached 7% in 2007. After the severe impact of the post-election chaos and the Global Financial Crisis, which saw growth rates drop to 1.7% in 2008 and 2.6% in 2009, the economy recovered to 5% in both 2010 and 2011. Development initiatives resumed in all parts of the country, including hitherto neglected and largely undeveloped semi-arid or arid northern regions. Many sectors of the economy that had collapsed before 2003 recovered, and numerous state corporations that had faltered during the Moi years were revived and began performing profitably. The telecommunications sector, in particular, experienced a significant boom. Rebuilding, modernization, and expansion of infrastructure began in earnest, with several ambitious infrastructural projects, such as the Thika Superhighway, being completed, achievements that would have seemed unfeasible during the Moi years. The country's cities and towns also began to undergo positive renewal and transformation.

The Kibaki regime also notably reduced Kenya's dependence on Western donor aid, with the country increasingly funding its development through internally generated resources, such as increased tax revenue collection. Relations with the People's Republic of China, Japan, and other non-Western powers improved and expanded remarkably during the Kibaki years. China and Japan, as well as Asian Tigers like Malaysia and Singapore, Brazil, countries in the Middle East, and to a lesser extent, South Africa, Libya, other African countries, and even Iran, became increasingly important economic partners for Kenya.

4.8. Political Legacy and Controversies

President Kibaki's political legacy is complex, marked by both progressive reforms and persistent criticisms regarding governance and ethnic relations.

4.8.2. Failure to Tame Corruption

Despite the fact that President Kibaki was never personally accused of corruption, and he managed to largely halt the rampant grabbing of public land that characterized the Moi and Kenyatta eras, he was notably unable to adequately contain Kenya's deeply entrenched culture of endemic corruption.

The situation was described by Michela Wrong thus: "Whether expressed in the petty bribes the average Kenyan had to pay each week to fat-bellied policemen and local councillors, the jobs for the boys doled out by civil servants and politicians on strictly tribal lines, or the massive scams perpetrated by the country's ruling elite, corruption had become endemic. 'Eating', as Kenyans dubbed the gorging on state resources by the well-connected, had crippled the nation. In the corruption indices drawn up by the anti-graft organisation Transparency International, Kenya routinely trail[s] near the bottom ... viewed as only slightly less sleazy than Nigeria or Pakistan..."

The Daily Nation newspaper, in a 4 March 2013 article titled "End of a decade of highs and lows for Mwai Kibaki," summarized the issue: "For a leader who was popularly swept into power in 2002 on an anti-corruption platform, Kibaki's tenure saw graft scandals where hundreds of millions of shillings were siphoned from public coffers. Kibaki's National Rainbow Coalition - which took power from the authoritarian rule of Daniel arap Moi-was welcomed for its promises of change and economic growth, but soon showed that it was better suited to treading established paths. The initial response to corruption was very solid ... but it became clear after a while that these scams reached all the way to the president himself," said Kenya's former anti-corruption chief John Githongo in Michela Wrong's book It's Our Turn to Eat. "Most notorious of a raft of graft scandals was the multi-billion shilling Anglo Leasing case, which emerged in 2004 and involved public cash being paid to a complicated web of foreign companies for a range of services-including naval ships and passports-that never materialised."

4.9. 2010 Constitution

The successful passage of Kenya's transformative 2010 Constitution, vigorously championed by President Kibaki in the 2010 Kenyan constitutional referendum, stands as a major triumph and achievement of his presidency. This new constitution significantly addressed Kenya's long-standing governance and institutional challenges. With its promulgation, wide-ranging institutional and legislative reforms began, which President Kibaki skillfully and successfully steered in the final years of his presidency. His son, Jimmy Kibaki, was quoted saying, "His greatest moment was the promulgation of the new Constitution... It was a very deep and emotional moment for him."

4.10. Power Handover

President Kibaki peacefully handed over the Kenyan presidency to his successor, Uhuru Kenyatta, on 9 April 2013, at a public inauguration ceremony held at Kenya's largest stadium. During the event, Kibaki expressed his satisfaction, stating, "I am happy to pass the torch of leadership to the new generation of leaders." He also extended his gratitude to his family and all Kenyans for their unwavering support throughout his tenure in office, and highlighted the various achievements his government had made. This handover marked the conclusion of his presidency and the end of his extensive 50-year career in public service.

7.1. Honorary degrees