Moi: The Making of an African Statesman

by Andrew Morton

This text traces the life and career of one of Africa's longest serving and most controversial leaders, Daniel arap Moi, President of Kenya. Andrew Morton seeks to challenge assumptions about a man routinely written off as a dictator.

Genres: Kenya

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Andrew David Morton (born 1953) is one of the world's best-known biographers and a leading authority on modern celebrity. His groundbreaking biography Diana: Her True Story was a #1 New York Times bestseller, as was Monica's Story, an authorized biography of Monica Lewinsky, and Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography. The winner of numerous awards, including Author of the Year, his other New York Times bestsellers include unauthorized biographies of Madonna and Angelina Jolie, as well as William & Catherine: Their Story. A former British Fleet Street tabloid journalist,he studied history at the University of Sussex. He lives in London.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/andrew...

Reviews

[Dan Murage · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read for anyone looking to get a better grasp of Kenya's political scene from pre-independence to the late 90's through the eyes of the then president, Daniel Arap Moi.

[Noni Maina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very political correct book and romantic. But at least I got some insight into this Then Machiavellian politician. If anything this book just goes to show how good at politics Moi really is.

[Simeon Nyakundi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good bk

[Leo Mugo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Andrew Morton tells the unknown story of one of Africa’s most controversial and infamous politicians, Daniel Toroitich Arap Moi. Moi was a man with two contrasting stories. On one end, Moi was known as a charming, calculative and strategic anti-colonial hero who negotiated for the independence of Kenya and advocated for the rights of minority African communities. While on the other end, he was known to be a brutal, authoritative and conservative dictator who imprisoned, tortured and killed any critic of his regime.

However, Morton also brings context along with Moi’s journey. He describes Moi’s humble and traditional upbringing in the heart of Kenya’s Great Rift Valley while also acknowledging the role Western missionaries played in shaping Moi’s childhood. Morton goes on further to describe Moi’s political journey through colonial and post-colonial Kenya. He gives a vivid account of the contempt Moi faced from his European colleagues at the Legislative Council to the disrespect Moi received under powerful Kikuyu politicians while serving as Vice President of an independent Kenya before his rise to the presidency.

Right after Moi ascended to the presidency after his predecessor’s death (Kenyatta), he still had to grapple with the ghosts of Kenya’s past. Historical ethnic tensions were still brewing underground even after he made Kenya a de jure one party state while an attempted coup, pushed Moi to crackdown on his dissidents and consolidate his power just like his predecessor even after Moi advocated for a more democratic and tolerant society in his early years as president.

Even though Moi had a lot going on in his political life, he still didn’t shy away from real conversations surrounding multi party elections and democratic reforms. Moi made it clear that turning Kenya into a multiparty democracy was the perfect ground for fueling historic ethnic tensions and his prediction was and still is correct. In 1991, Moi reintroduced multiparty elections due to international pressure and the country immediately fell into a toxic state of ethnic politics and violence that still have a strong grip on Kenya today.

To conclude, I don’t think Morton was trying to idolize Moi in this book but rather he was trying to show other sides of Moi that weren’t open to the public. The book gives a different perspective on not only Moi but also Kenya’s history.