Corruption destroys cult of Moi as Kenya goes to polls

He is no Mao Tse-tung, but for 24 years the cult of President Daniel arap Moi has towered over Kenyans.

His blank-faced portrait stares out from banknotes and looks down from office walls. In true "Big Man" style, schools, streets and airports bear his name. And his gravelly pronouncements in farmboy Swahili, broadcast on state TV, have become part of the fabric of public life.

From today, all that ends. Amid an atmosphere of nervous excitement, Kenyans are going to the polls to choose a new leader. Mr Moi, 78, who is constitutionally barred from running again, has promised to leave peacefully, even if the opposition wins.

That is just what may happen. According to polls, pundits and papers, Mwai Kibaki, leader of the National Rainbow Coalition (Narc), will trounce President Moi's handpicked favourite, Uhuru Kenyatta.

The opposition is riding high on hostility towards Mr Moi and his ruling Kanu party, which have presided over the corruption-fuelled slide of one of Africa's promising nations. Voter turnout of up to 80 per cent is predicted, and many have used the Christmas holiday to ensure they are close to their polling stations. Some have even returned from abroad. "I can't think of one good thing that man has done," said Lawrence Wahome who flew back from Afghanistan, where he works with the UN, especially to vote.

In some cases politicking has gone to extreme lengths. On Monday passengers screamed when a three-metre python escaped on a bus near the western town of Eldoret, reported the Daily Nation. Its elderly woman owner said the snake had magical properties that would help elect her brother, who is running in civic elections. Then she stripped naked to protest against its disappearance.

However the euphoria of change has been marred by violence and dirty tricks.

Candidates from all sides have been attacked with stones, sticks, arrows and guns. On Christmas night three Narc supporters died in a Nairobi shooting. The opposition blamed the police, who denied the charge.

Last weekend a Kanu candidate lost her husband and children in a ruthless arson attack on their home in Nyeri, Mr Kibaki's home district.

The violence is low compared with the past two elections when up to 2,000 people died in politically motivated tribal clashes. But Amnesty International has warned it may deprive some of their vote. Kenyans are struggling to imagine life without Mr Moi, who abandoned a quiet teaching career for politics almost 50 years ago.

His trademark rungu (ceremonial baton), loud unmatching ties and chauvinism are as much a part of Kenyan life as maize dinners and milky tea.

"People have some emotional attachment to him, despite all the bad points," says Walter Mongare, a TV comedian famous for his cutting imitations that portray Mr Moi as a bumbling fool.

But most are looking back on his rule with an unsentimental eye. Although Mr Moi has kept Kenya at peace while so many neighbours went to war – such as Sudan, Somalia and Ethiopia – he leaves behind a crumbling country. Corruption has become the national vice, spreading from ministerial offices to poorly paid police shaking down passing motorists. One in 10 Kenyans is HIV positive, all of whom will probably die from Aids. Crime is rampant. And millions of penniless peasants have poured into Nairobi slums – the largest one being just below his house – in search of jobs but finding only misery.

"Nothing has gone right for 24 years," said Jethro Mwikisha, a salesman, as a homeless woman hassled him for change in downtown Nairobi. "We will be very happy to see him go."

But Narc is no league of white knights. Although Mr Kibaki has a clean record some of his lieutenants were Kanu stalwarts until a couple of months ago.

And there are jitters about vote rigging. Opposition firebrand Raila Odinga has warned that if the election is blatantly stolen, his supporters will storm State House. President Moi dared him to go ahead.

But there are other signs that Kenya's democracy has come of age. About 40,000 international and local observers will be monitoring the elections. The electoral commission, despite some blunders, has behaved with admirable impartiality. And last weekend, more than 200 army troops gathered in a Nairobi park to practise a power handover ceremony slated for 5 January. An ordinary soldier took the place of the president-elect; President Moi stayed home.

CONTENDERS FOR THE SUCCESSION

Mwai Kibaki, 71, candidate of the main opposition alliance National Rainbow Coalition

Became the front-runner after six other candidates set aside presidential ambitions to support him. A rare poll released earlier this month put him 47 points ahead of his closest rival. The London School of Economics alumni who served as vice-president from 1978 to 1988 is running on a platform of free and compulsory primary school education and prudent use of government money. Kibaki was Kenya's longest-serving finance minister (1969-1982) under the country's first two presidents, Jomo Kenyatta and Daniel arap Moi. As Kenya's third president, he promises to tackle the corruption by having top officials, himself included, declare their wealth. This is Kibaki's third try for the presidency. His main support base is his Kikuyu tribe, Kenya's largest, and the urban areas.

Uhuru Kenyatta, 41, candidate of the governing Kenya African National Union (Kanu)

Outgoing President Daniel arap Moi's hand-picked heir. He's backed by a party that has been in power since Kenya's independence from Britain in 1963 and by his family's wealth. Uhuru Kenyatta is a son of Kenya's most famous freedom fighter and first president, Jomo Kenyatta. He is banking on youth and lack of experience in government to win, arguing that he has no experience in corruption and mismanaging the country. Kenyatta lost when he ran for his father's old seat in 1997. In October 2001, Moi nominated him to parliament and the next month appointed him a Cabinet minister. He hopes to draw votes from his Kikuyu tribe, which is Kenya's largest and usually votes for opposition candidates. Kenyatta also expects the youth and Kanu's traditional support base in rural areas to vote for him.