Moi sworn in as Kenyan President

Moi was yesterday declared President amid accusations of poll irregularities by two opponents in the election, Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga. They called for new elections.

But independent observers have not come out in support of the accusations and declared the presidential election generally free and fair.

Moi won 40.12 per cent of the vote and satisfied the requirement of winning 25 per cent of the vote in at least five out of Kenya’s eight provinces.

AP adds: President Moi, who comes from one of Kenya’s smallest tribes, has used iron rule backed by shrewd manipulation to survive as one of "Africa’s last big men."

But critics claim Moi’s 19-year autocratic rule has turned the once prosperous East African nation admired for stability on a continent rife with civil war and brutal dictatorships into an economic cripple plagued by corruption and human-rights abuses. During the campaign, Moi promised to use his last years in office to work for a peaceful and united Kenya, a message that appealed to the Kenyans who have seen neighbours Somalia, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Congo descend into violence.

Born in 1924, in the Rift Valley, Moi taught in a school before going into politics in 1955, as one of a handful of Africans in the colonial legislature.