Mwai Kibaki, Kenya’s former president from 2002 to 2013, died at the age of 90.
Kibaki, one of the country’s wealthiest individuals, brought in economic reforms and a new constitution as president, but he fell short of his vows to fight corruption. The disputed 2007 polls, which resulted in fatal unrest, damaged his presidency.
In 2002, the British-educated economist defeated a candidate chosen by outgoing President Daniel arap Moi in a landslide election. Kibaki had previously held the position of vice president in Moi’s administration.
Kibaki is credited with restoring Kenya’s sluggish economy through budgetary discipline and infrastructural projects, as well as eliminating many limitations on freedom of expression.
However, a schism with Raila Odinga, a popular NARC coalition member, resulted in a tense standoff that turned violent during the next election in 2007.
With Odinga leading by hundreds of thousands of votes, the election commission unexpectedly halted the results announcement and removed media. Kibaki was rushedly sworn in when the commission announced he had won by a razor-thin margin.
Odinga called for protests after election observers concluded the polls were rigged.
Ethnic violence erupted in Nairobi’s slums, the Rift Valley highlands, and the lakeside city of Kisumu amid a security crackdown. Several people were burned alive in a church in one event.
Before former UN chief Kofi Annan secured a peace settlement that saw the formation of a grand coalition government with Odinga as prime minister, at least 1,250 people were slain.
The alliance lasted five years, and in 2010, a new constitution was established, devolving some presidential responsibilities to the counties.
Kibaki, the son of a tobacco trader, attended Makerere University in Kampala before becoming the first African to graduate with honours from the London School of Economics.
In 1958, he returned to Makerere University as an economics lecturer. He was elected to parliament after Kenya’s independence and became an aide to founding President Jomo Kenyatta. He was appointed trade and industry minister two years later.
Kibaki then served as Moi’s vice president, but due to a squabble, he was demoted to a series of lower-level positions before defecting to the opposition and winning the election.
He is survived by a large family, including children and grandkids.
