Appearing in today's Standard:

Colonel Muammar Gaddafi rose to power as a champion of the people even at one point declaring Libya to be a republic of the masses. He was heralded as a strong leader who was a symbol of anti-Western defiance, which was a plus for him in a country that had only years before been liberated from colonial tyrants.

His exit from power paints a very different picture and shows what the once self-proclaimed liberator of Libya truly was under the skin. His early years were spent deceiving the Libyan People that he was a reformist at heart when in reality he just wanted the popularity to help him cement his grip on power.

His first populist moves were in the guise of closing down American air bases to rally the supporters of anti-western sentiments behind him. In retaliation of Italian occupation, he expelled thousands of Italians from within Libya’s borders and gained the confidence of those who had detested colonial rule.

Gaddafi went ahead to nationalize businesses and even proclaimed a popular revolution that saw the establishment of a kind of people’s parliament called the people’s congress. He had no regard for any kind of law and appointed himself as the country’s constitution.

The crowning jewel of his achievements was his advocacy for providing the public with all necessary public amenities but after a reign that was marred with terrorism, murder, repression, poverty and corruption the people of Libya decided they had had enough and ousted the self-crowned reformer.

Note the use of the words reformist and populist.

I wonder who in Kenya fits this description?