New era for Kenya as opposition obliterates ruling party

Hundreds of thousands of Kenyans roared their approval as Mwai Kibaki took the oath of office as Kenya's third president in Uhuru Park, Nairobi today.

With his right leg in a cast after a car accident, Mr Kibaki swore to conduct his duties as president without fear or favour or malice, "so help me God." He then received a 21–gun salute.

The huge crowd had gathered hours earlier, waiting patiently under a hot sun for Mr Kibaki and outgoing President Daniel arap Moi to arrive.

Over a momentous weekend, millions of Kenyans swept from power the corrupt elite that made them poor and miserable. But the revolution was a peaceful one. There was no violence and no mass marches – just the slip of ballots falling into boxes.

In a bitter ending to the rule of Daniel arap Moi, voters rejected Uhuru Kenyatta, his chosen candidate, and issued a crushing electoral defeat to his Kenya Africa National Union (Kanu) party.

"This is the dawn of a new era," proclaimed Raila Odinga, of the National Rainbow Coalition (Narc), the cross-tribal opposition alliance that comes to power today.

Mr Odinga, a firebrand politician and former political detainee, was the key to Kanu's downfall. He is tipped for the Prime Minister's job.

Few can believe Mr Moi went so easily. Africa's "big men" tend to be dislodged by the gun or the Grim Reaper. At times, Mr Moi – who had opponents tortured during the 1980s – looked like he might go that way too. Yet in the end, the old man agreed to step off the stage with the quiet dignity of democracy. After 24 years of economic vandalism and moral decay, it may be the best part of his legacy.

Now power has fallen in the lap of Mr Kibaki, a veteran politician aged 71 who served as Mr Moi's deputy in the 1980s. Sitting in his front garden yesterday after he was declared President, he said change would be swift and substantial.

Priority number one would be corruption, he said. A new commission would go after politicians, public officials and policemen with sticky fingers.

Children would not have to pay to go to school. Women would enjoy equal status. And the classic mark of greatness – the presidential personality cult – would go out the window. There will be no Mwai Kibaki streets, schools or airports, he vowed. Neither will the banknotes feature the presidential face. "It is not a matter of ego. The president will be judged by what he does," he said.

But nobody believes it will be that simple. A gargantuan task faces the new government. Kenya's economy is in tatters and will take years to rebuild. And Mr Kibaki's credentials on corruption are far from perfect.

Seated beside him in the tent were men who, as Kanu stalwarts, presided over the steady decline of Kenya in the past decade. They included a famous Moi stooge, Joseph Kamotho, and the former vice-president, George Saitoti.

Their defection to the opposition was critical to delivering victory. But have they changed their spots? Only the coming months will tell.

Across town, Mr Kibaki's rival was conceding defeat. Looking fresh and sparky, Mr Kenyatta strode into the upmarket Serena Hotel. "We were not the change that people were looking for," he said.

Mr Kenyatta, whose father Jomo led Kenya to independence, desperately tried to sell himself as a young and dynamic reformer. But for too many, he would have simply been a Moi puppet.

Now he is the leader of the opposition – with about 60 of the parliament's 210 seats. He vowed to rebuild Kanu into a "strong and formidable force." But smarting from a defeat that saw 10 cabinet ministers lose their seats, he has a long way to go.

Up to the end, many Kenyans were afraid to believe the Moi regime was gone.

David Kariuki, a roadside trader, said he was waiting for the official confirmation before cracking open the beer. "You never know. Anything can happen with these Kanu people," he said. At Banana Hill, in the tea and coffee zone above Nairobi, many were still pinching themselves.

"We are so very happy. This is the change we have been waiting for 24 years," said Keziah Ngururi, 33, as she left morning mass.

On the eve of Friday's poll, Mama Ngina Kenyatta, Uhuru's mother, distributed money and title deeds for land to poor peasants, she said.

But the bribery didn't work. Thousands still voted for Mr Kibaki. "I liked the young man," said John Munge, 60, of Mr Kenyatta. "But he was backed by the wrong forces."

Mr Kibaki's first task will be to unravel Kanu's complex apparatus of patronage and power, which slowly smothered Kenyan government over the past four decades.

Yesterday he vowed to purge the civil service of its dead wood and to pursue the £36m he alleges the outgoing government siphoned off in its dying days. "Very soon you shall see the results," he said.

In some corners of the public service, the moment of truth has already come. During campaigning, the state-owned television station, the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation, gave blanket coverage to Mr Kenyatta's campaign.

Last Saturday, as the results flooded in, someone apparently saw the writing on the wall. After 39 years of Kanu propaganda, the plug was pulled. The screens were filled with images of opposition victory.

Taking power - the new rulers

Mwai Kibaki

Declared President after his National Rainbow Coalition swept to power. He is an experienced politician and economist who served as Daniel arap Moi's vice-president before defecting from the ruling party, Kanu, in 1991. He founded the Democratic Party a few days later to contest the first multi-party elections in 1992. But critics say the wealthy Mr Kibaki came late to democracy and question his commitment to reform. He had to bring many former Kanu officials into the opposition coalition to ensure electoral success. He is a member of Kenya's largest tribe, the Kikuyu.

Rail Odinga

Expected to become Prime Minister. He is the son of the late nationalist hero Oginga Odinga, whose family is from the powerful Luo tribe. The younger Odinga picked up the mantle of his father, the grand old man of the Kenyan opposition, and was jailed for eight years by President Moi for protesting against one-party rule. Mr Odinga, 42, likes to compare his political history to that of Nelson Mandela. Critics say he could overshadow Mr Kibaki in government and accuse him of opportunism for switching between the opposition and Kanu in a quest for power.