Daniel arap Moi taught at primary schools in Kabarnet and Kapsabet before entering politics in the 1950s. He was quiet, careful, uncharismatic in a way that made him seem harmless. Kenyatta chose him as vice president precisely because he did not threaten anyone, because the Kalenjin were a small enough community that Moi would need allies to survive. Then Kenyatta died in August 1978 and Moi inherited the state. What followed was twenty-four years of rule that grew more repressive with each year, until the schoolmaster had become the thing he once seemed incapable of: a ruler who held power through fear.
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