Why Koigi Addressed Meetings With Moi To Say No To The New Constitution

By Koigi wa Wamwere

Since I went to a meeting with former President Moi at Kabarnet, there were many people who wondered what I was doing with him in the no camp. Because of my silence, there have been many speculations that I wish to end.

To begin with, I never chose my enmity with Moi and I have no wish that it should last forever. In addition, I was enemies with Moi not as a person, but because of his dictatorship or “Moism”. Though saying no to a flawed constitution brought us closer, it did not excuse Moi government’s oppression of Kenyans and its imprisonment of me for 9 years. Notwithstanding, because my differences with Moi were never personal but political, they must not be pursued for their own sake.

Secondly, when I criticized Moi, I did not do so because he was a Kalenjin and I, Kikuyu and the two of us must therefore fight until death do us apart. If I have no reason, I must not criticize Moi, right or wrong.

Thirdly, majority of Kenyans who live here agree on our country’s need for reconciliation between individual, class and political foes to allow Kenya to put behind its negative history, of course without forgetting it, and open a new chapter of harmony that will unite us. In this regard, one would think Kenyans would welcome my rapprochement with Moi and not criticize it, just because they are bitter with him. If warring nations make peace, so can individuals at war.

After all, it was my hope that if Moi and I can share a platform and a desire for a better constitution, so can our communities, especially those that live in Rift Valley. Indeed, this is why we have the Truth Justice and Reconciliation Commission and Kenyans therefore ought to welcome our move as a big step forward.

People who have not fought may not understand the burden of carrying bitterness or fear of those you fought and call you enemy. And since we all need peace more than war, when people aren’t fighting, they ought to reconcile. By the way, reconciliation does not mean losing one’s identity into that of the other. But should Moi and I differ, for that, we should not seek to destroy one another, but do so democratically.

In Kenya, we are very hypocritical. We applauded when Mandela and de Klerk came together to liberate South Africa from Apartheid but recoil when our leaders seek reconciliation. And since we put a lot of premium on enmity, we might as well remember, for peace, enemies, not friends, must meet.

Expectedly, many Kenyans who were opposed to my being in the no camp with Moi would have praised him had he joined their yes camp.

In fact, in the past, there has been no outcry when Moi met Kibaki, Raila, Kalonzo Musyoka or Maina Njenga. And there is currently no outcry when Moi was invited to attend the promulgation ceremonies. So, why the hullabaloo, when Moi and Koigi meet to say no to the new constitution?

However, the worst allegation is Moi bribed me to be in the no camp. But if Moi could not buy me, with a promise of life and freedom, when he was president and me his prisoner, why should he be able to do so now? Or is he richer and more powerful today? Surely, I am no more desperate for money today than I was for life then. And have all the no people also eaten Moi’s money or it is just me? The trouble is people who sell their consciences also think others do the same for any position they take. In fact, their charge of bribery is more against them than me.


In criticizing my opposition of the new constitution with Moi, some say, as a fighter for change, I should never be on the same side with Moi. But if Moi says negative ethnicity and majimbo are bad, should I disagree when I agree, just to spite him? After all, my company with Moi on the no side would have been no worse than my company with Ole Ntimama on the yes side. The new constitution rightly separated people who belonged to the same class, religion, parties or ideology if they didn’t fall on the same side of the document. And it was proper that the opposition of those saying no stayed even when they were from different backgrounds and had different reasons for saying no. It was the draft’s fault that it made so many enemies, not mine.

For me, it was better to have Moi fighting a flawed constitution than supporting it. As Jesus said, “Whoever is not against us is for us.”