At 90 years, Mwai Kibaki is still a role model for younger politicians

Mwai Kibaki

Former President Mwai Kibaki. 

Photo credit: File I Nation Media Group

As Mwai Kibaki turns 90 years old today, the third President of Kenya is being celebrated as a patriot and a hero who greatly contributed to national development.

He had dreamed of joining the military after high school but that was never to be as the chief colonial secretary, Walter Coutts, had ordered that Gikuyu, Embu and Meru men be barred from enlisting because they posed the risk of promoting dissidence.

Mr Kibaki went on to join politics and remains a yardstick by which the 2022 succession is being measured.

When he handed over power to Uhuru Kenyatta on April 9, 2013, Mr Kibaki said, “I am happy to pass the torch of leadership to the new generation of leaders.” The handover marked the end of his presidency and 50 years of public service.

It is every humane politician’s dream to achieve even a half of Mr Kibaki’s legacy, said former Gatanga MP Peter Kenneth.

Phenomenal

“As he hits 90 today, let us remember him as the man who brought this country back on its tracks after 24 years of misrule. History is there for us to tell us what country he inherited in 2002 and what he left behind in 2013…The man has simply been phenomenal,” Mr Kenneth says.

Mr Kibaki launched his working life as an economics lecturer at Makerere University in 1960 but was indoctrinated into politics, where he became an executive officer of the Kenya African National Union (Kanu).

He had studied economics, history and political science at Makerere and was chairman of the Kenya Students Association there. In 1955, he graduated as the best student in his class and was awarded a scholarship for further studies in the United Kingdom, obtaining a bachelor of science with distinction in public finance from the London School of Economics.

In the 1963 elections, he contested the then Donholm constituency (subsequently called Bahati and now Makadara) seat to launch his career in active electoral politics.

He was to remain in Parliament throughout his political career that ended in 2013 when Mr Kenyatta was sworn in.

On the campaign trail, ODM leader Raila Odinga has described Mr Kibaki as “the man who showed Kenya that it is possible to unite, develop and prosper”. He says the rise of Mr Kibaki in politics to climax as the best-performing President is the measure by which 2022 elections should be approached.

Mr Kibaki served the country as assistant minister for Finance and chairman of the Economic Planning Commission in 1963 before he was elevated to minister of Commerce and Industry in 1966.

Legacy 

New Partnership for Africa’s Development Chairman Elias Mbau says Mr Kibaki lives on as a legacy of how a country going bananas can be reclaimed to be self-sufficient. “Just imagine what Kenya would be today had Kibaki succeeded Mzee Jomo Kenyatta in 1978 and ruled the country for 24 years…If his 10-year rule was enough to undo the 24-year mess of Daniel Moi, what if he had a longer rule?” Mr Mbau poses.

In 1974, Time magazine rated Mr Kibaki as among the top 100 people in the world who had the potential to lead — and the evaluation was proved by time to have been spot on.

National Heritage Chief Administrative Secretary Zack Kinuthia says “Kibaki was simply the coolest of the cools as a President”.

He says Mr Kibaki taught Kenyans how to remain cool even during fierce storms.

“Not once did we witness Kibaki’s government (2002-2013) being on the verge of collapse owing to internal turmoil. But he remained calm, always coming out to make a joke out of the tribulations and steering his boat clear [of capsizing],” he says.

Rift Valley Regional Commissioner George Natembeya says Mr Kibaki’s main strength was in trusting his advisers.

“I was a personal assistant to Internal Security Minister John Michuki during the Kibaki rule. He gave all of us freedom to execute our mandates. His belief in our abilities made us walk the extra mile to prove ourselves and avoid disappointing him. May Kibaki live long!” he said.

Naivasha MP Jane Kihara says Mr Kibaki’s life is a true reflection of how bottom-up development works. “This is a man who grew up in a village where he nearly missed school owing to poverty. But luck was on his side and that did not prevent him from rising through all the challenges to be one of our most respected statesmen. For his good deeds and clean heart, Kibaki will live longer… a life of no pain,” she says.

In 1969, Mr Kibaki became the minister for Finance and Economic Planning, where he served until 1978. Moving his political base from Nairobi to his rural home, he was re-elected to Parliament in 1974 to represent his native Othaya constituency.

Real hustler 

He was re-elected for the seat in all subsequent elections until 2007,  when Mary Wambui inherited his mantle. She describes Mr Kibaki as the real hustler who rose from nothing to something.

Born in Gatuyaini village in Nyeri County on November 15, 1931, Mr Kibaki was the youngest son of Kikuyu peasants Kibaki Githinji and Teresia Wanjiku.

He studied at Gatuyaini, Karima and Mathari primary schools, before proceeding to Mang’u High between 1947 and 1950, where he scored the maximum points possible in his terminal examinations.

His ascent to high office started in 1978 when he was elevated to Vice-President and Minister for Health. In 1982 he became minister for home affairs but was transferred back to the Health ministry in 1988.

In December 1991, Mr Kibaki left Kanu and founded the Democratic Party (DP), vying for presidency in the 1992 General Election and finishing third. He competed again in 1997, finishing second. In January 1998, with his party, he became leader of the official opposition.

In preparation for the 2002 elections, the DP joined several other parties to form the National Alliance Party of Kenya (NAK). NAK allied itself to the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to form the National Rainbow Coalition (Narc). On December 27, 2002, Narc won with 62 per cent of the votes.

A Catholic, Mr Kibaki was married to Lucy Kibaki, who has since died. They raised a daughter, Judy Wanjiku, and three sons, Jimmy, David and Tony.