Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi for the first time in his 24 years in power on Thursday skipped marking the day he assumed power in the east African country.
Instead of the usual pomp and military parades to mark the anniversary, the president, whose term of office ends early in January, chose to celebrate Moi Day by presiding over a party for physically disabled children in Thika town, 55 kilometres northeast of the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.
Moi Day is celebrated on October 10 every year to mark his coming to power after the death in August 1978 of founding president Jomo Kenyatta.
At last year’s celebrations, Moi indicated that the day would no longer be marked by public rallies and the usual military pomp.
Moi is constitutionally barred from contesting a presidential election due at the end of the year. Many presidential aspirants have said they will scrap Moi Day from list of national holidays if they win the elections, citing ”plunder and misrule” as the dominant factors during Moi’s rule. – Sapa-AFP