Lee Njiru, the longtime press secretary for the late President Daniel arap Moi, has made a surprising revelation about how Moi managed to retain power during the 1992 general elections.
In an interview with Dr. King’ori on Tuesday, April 29, Njiru said that at one point, Moi had given up and was ready to step down, believing he would lose the election.
But it took a well-orchestrated plan — that involved deception and clever strategy — to convince him to stay and eventually win.
According to Njiru, Moi had become so discouraged that he openly said he had no chance of winning and was prepared to hand over power.
Njiru, however, urged him not to quit and promised they would come up with a formula to secure his victory.
“Moi said he wanted to leave in 1992 and believed he couldn’t win,” Njiru recalled. “But I told him, no, we are not going anywhere.
Just give me some time. When he asked if we had a strategy, I told him we would create one.”
Njiru said he quickly contacted a few trusted people — including intelligence officers from both the Kalenjin and Kikuyu communities — and together, they came up with a unique plan.
The first step in their scheme was to request a large amount of money from President Moi. Once they got the funds, they approached Sheldon Muchilwa, who was the government printer at the time, and instructed him to print campaign posters that showed Kenneth Matiba as a presidential candidate — even though Matiba had no idea about it and was abroad in London.
The plan didn’t stop there. Njiru and his team hired a group of young people to distribute the posters all over the country, making it look like Matiba had officially launched his presidential campaign.
They also paid well-known Kikuyu musicians to compose songs praising Matiba and his leadership, making it seem like he had widespread support.
When Matiba eventually returned to Kenya, the team ensured that the welcome he received would leave a powerful impression.
They hired buses to transport people from Rift Valley who were loyal to Moi but pretended to be Matiba’s supporters.
These people sang, danced, and cheered for Matiba as he landed, making him believe he had massive backing in the Rift Valley.
Njiru explained that this spectacle convinced Matiba that he had the support of the people, especially those from the Rift Valley.
As a result, he distanced himself from Mwai Kibaki, who was also vying for the presidency, and chose to run independently. This move, according to Njiru, led to a split between the two strong opposition figures.
To push the illusion even further, Njiru’s team paid for a full-page advertisement in a local newspaper featuring Matiba’s campaign poster, reinforcing the belief that he had strong national support.
“When Matiba landed and saw all those people singing for him, he got overly excited. And when asked who should be president, he said, ‘Let the people decide.’ That’s when he turned his back on Kibaki,” Njiru said.
Njiru added that this clever confusion worked perfectly to divide the opposition. “We successfully tricked Matiba’s media team into believing he had major support in Rift Valley,” he said.
The strategy didn’t end there. Njiru and his team also reached out to the late Martin Shikuku, who was running for a parliamentary seat.
They paid him to persuade other candidates to join Matiba’s party, FORD-Asili. Once some of the politicians joined the party, they were given financial support to run their campaigns.
Shikuku was then tasked with inviting Matiba to Western Kenya, and during the event, he was instructed to speak in strong local dialect and tell the people something shocking: “Elect Matiba now, and because he is unwell, I will take over once he dies.”
Matiba, who didn’t understand the dialect used, nodded in agreement, not realizing what Shikuku had just told the crowd.
“We told Shikuku exactly what to say in his local language, and when he asked Matiba to confirm it publicly, Matiba agreed without knowing what he was supporting,” Njiru said.
Njiru believes this brilliant strategy caused serious divisions in the Mount Kenya and Western regions, especially between Matiba and Kibaki supporters. This division weakened the opposition and gave Moi the advantage he needed to win.
In the final results of the 1992 presidential election, President Moi — running under the KANU party — secured 1,962,866 votes.
Kenneth Matiba came in second with 1,404,266 votes. Mwai Kibaki finished third with 1,050,617, while Jaramogi Oginga Odinga came fourth with 944,197 votes.
Daniel Moi, who became Kenya’s president in 1978 after the death of founding President Jomo Kenyatta, remained in power until 2002.
He peacefully handed over the leadership to Mwai Kibaki. Moi passed away on February 4, 2020, after serving the nation for over two decades.
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