Moi jeered as Kenyans hail their new President

Many thought they might never see this moment. A colossal crowd of ecstatic Kenyans roared their approval yesterday as they watched a stony-faced Daniel arap Moi hand the presidency to his opposition successor, Mwai Kibaki. Hundreds of thousands crammed into Nairobi's Uhuru Park for the landmark inauguration, the first time an opposition leader has deposed the ruling party in modern East Africa.

"You have asked me to lead this nation out of the present wilderness and malaise on to the promised land, and I shall do so," the 71-year-old veteran politician told the hordes, who included city managers, glue-sniffing street-boys and ragged slum dwellers.

Mr Kibaki took his oath of office from a wheelchair, having injured a leg in a car accident weeks ago. Bursts of cheering accompanied each of the 21-gun salutes, issued by smartly decked-out military chiefs who snapped to attention for their new leader.

Then the brass band burst into the Swahili tune "Funga Safari", meaning "End of the Journey". It seemed dedicated to Mr Moi, who sat impassively through the ceremony, his distinctive gold and ivory rungu balanced on his lap.

When he rose to speak the public address failed. The silent crowd watched him lip his final, unknown words, and it seemed apt. After 24 years of authoritarian and increasingly unpopular rule, Mr Moi has suddenly become irrelevant. By the end of his short speech, some had started chanting, "Moi must go". The 78-year-old says he plans to retire to his Rift Valley farm.

Mr Kibaki acknowledged he was inheriting a country "badly ravaged by years of misrule and ineptitude". Many of the Moi-era bosses responsible for the damage were on the dais behind him. Indirectly addressing them, Mr Kibaki said: "Corruption will cease to be a way of life in Kenya."

In future, he said, the police would no longer mount impromptu roadblocks, their primary means of bribe collection. Civil servants would not steal public funds. And he would restore "judicial independence", a clear dig at the bewigged Chief Justice Bernard Chunga, who heads one of Africa's most notoriously corruptible benches. There would be no "witch-hunt" but at the same time "it would be unfair not to raise questions about certain deliberate actions or policies of the past".

The inauguration had been hastily organised, and it showed. Pickpockets mingled with the crowd, stealing mobile phones. As the ceremony was delayed under the hot morning sun, the impatient crowd threw stones and clods of earth at police and waiting media. But the lack of organisation was counter-balanced by an intoxicating euphoria.

Young men scaled the outside face of a nearby 10-storey building to get a better view. Others waved placards such as "We are out of Egypt". Later, radio stations carried highly charged testimonies. "For the first time I feel emotional about being a Kenyan. I nearly cried," said one caller. The song "Unbwogable", a Luo word for "Unbeatable" that became the unofficial opposition anthem, played almost non-stop.

Last night many Kenyans were heading for bars to celebrate. But after the party, the hard work begins. Mr Kibaki promises to concentrate on issues, not personality politics. But politics there will inevitably be.

He forged his winning alliance by bringing together fiercely ambitious politicians, some from President Moi's front bench. Whether he can hold them together in govern-ment remains to be seen.

Mr Kibaki has also pledged to adopt a new constitution that would severely weaken his powers. Sticking to that promise might be the first test of his presidency.