For those who grew up in the 1990s, Emilio Mwai Kibaki was a key name in Kenyan politics and especially when it came to elections. It is in the late '80s and early '90s that Kenyans were demanding that Kanu, led by Daniel arap Moi, gets out of power.
Kenya was a one-party state at the time and Kibaki was among former government officials who were agitating for multipartism. Kibaki, then famous for his fist salute and 'DP… Umoja na Haki' slogan, came in third in the 1992 election and second in the 1997 presidential race.
From this point, everyone knew that Kibaki would be Kenya’s President and we all have nostalgic memories of singing “yote yawezekana bila Moi” and “unbwogable” as we ushered in the Kibaki era in 2002.
Kenya was struggling a lot at the time and the economy was limping. Kanu had run down the economy and the country was in the sunset days of the Moi administration.
But since 2002, Kenya has made tremendous progress in building the economy from negative growth to a high of seven per cent in 2007. President Kibaki not only launched the country's blueprint for growth – Vision 2030 – but worked hard to see major flagship projects take off.
During his presidency, Kenya saw key growth in infrastructure, with the building of the Thika Superhighway as well as bypasses and expansion of major roads. Kibaki was dedicated to infrastructure growth, which was key to opening up the country for further economic growth.
We will all remember Kibaki as the president who introduced free primary education, thus, increasing access to education for many Kenyans. The introduction of free tuition for secondary school further scaled up access to education.
It was Kibaki’s administration that kicked off the first form of devolution of resources through the introduction of the Constituency Development Fund, which allowed money to go down to the people for local development.
A lot of credit is currently going to the Jubilee administration for connecting more Kenyans to the national grid. However, this would not be possible if it were not for the foundation that Kibaki put in place to increase geothermal and hydroelectric production.
The Youth Enterprise Development Fund and the Women Enterprise Fund were a result of Kibaki’s belief in empowering the youth and women as a catalyst for economic development.
Many Kenyans will tell you that during the Kibaki era, they had money to spend, meaning there was economic stability. This is one area that many Kenyans are praising Kibaki for.
Kibaki's most critical achievement was giving Kenya the 2010 Constitution, which has been touted as the most progressive in the world. While after 10 years of it Kenyans have identified some weaknesses, the Constitution has expanded the rights of the citizens and made leaders more accountable.
But while we celebrate Kibaki’s illustrious record as President, we must not forget some of the misses of his administration. The Kibaki story is not complete without mention of rampant corruption within government, extrajudicial killings and the 2007-08 post-election violence.
“I am calling upon all of you to come out and fight corruption, and agree to support the government in fighting corruption as our first priority.” These were the words of President Mwai Kibaki when he took office on Monday, December 30, 2002.
But soon thereafter, the Kibaki administration in 2003 waltzed into town and despite the high-sounding and, perhaps, well-intentioned pledges, many state officers and high-ranking politicians were soon embroiled in the infamous multibillion-shilling Anglo-Leasing rip-off.
While the Kibaki administration had the good intention of neutralising criminal gangs such as Mungiki, Jeshi la Mzee and Chinkororo, the manner in which this was done left a sour taste in the mouth of many Kenyans.
All in all, Kibaki has left a beautiful legacy and lessons for leaders in Kenya and across the continent on how to give a country what it needs to prosper.
May Kibaki rest in peace.
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