Rank: Elder Joined: 2/7/2007 Posts: 11,935 Location: Nairobi
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That old man had candid words for just about all politicians......It made for a good laugh. On Moi If it were not for Moi, the Kalenjin would not have been educated. But as President, he did not want anybody to go ahead of him. This made him one of the worst dictators. He even detained me in 1983 for 102 days for alleged incitement.
On Raila Q: Do you see him seizing the presidency in your lifetime? A: You never know… Maybe he will never win… At least some of us would have loved to see him ascend to the presidency. He has not been lucky. Poor man. On CORD and Kalonzo Q: Cord today is outmarshalled and outmanoeuvred. There are those who think it is time Raila handed over the baton. A: Maybe it is a small lull. They will wake up. But I don’t see anybody who can step in Raila’s shoes. The whole area is empty. Q: Not even Kalonzo Musyoka? A: Ha ha ha. Don’t antagonise me with my friends but that coward… he can’t even put his own house in order. Q: You served in the Kenyatta, Moi, Kibaki and the Grand Coalition government. Which one do you consider to have been most inclined to public service? A: The coalition government. This, we achieved, not because of, but in spite of, Kibaki. Huyo mtu ako na roho nyeusi kabisa (that man is very selfish). He has few friends and he was a silent dictator. He had no interaction with Cabinet ministers. He is a self-seeker and out of touch with the common man. Take the quarrel over his office space. He has big houses in Othaya and Muthaiga and we have built him another in Mweiga. But still he has not found it fit to advise against such waste and recommend the money be spent in worthy causes. Even Kenyatta may not have been like Moi in the heart, but he at least he would welcome women to sing for him even if they may not have eaten with him. Q: You had this on-and-off friendship with George Saitoti. What are the recollections of the man who was a challenger to your position as ‘king’ of the Maasai? Saitoti was very afraid of me. But he was also a hypocrite and a coward. He made so much money from this Goldenberg thing that virtually half of Lavington belongs to him. I saw his mausoleum and it is more glamorous than Kenyatta’s. He left colossal amounts of money. He did some things with Moi, but Moi refused to endorse him completely when it came to the matter of succeeding him. Moi said that the man could not lead.Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.
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