Update June 10th
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Former president is much alive and well and very busy, his spokesman Lee Njiru said yesterday (June 9th). Mr Njiru and Moi handlers must know that the only way to dispell such rumours is for the person in question to make a public appearance, even if it is via video feed. Anything less (even a strongly worded statement like Mr Njiru's) hardly clears the air.
=====Earlier story====
Persistent rumours have been doing the rounds about the health of former President Daniel Toroitich arap Moi.
Kumekucha has just learnt from a reliable source that it is indeed true retired President Moi is not well. However family members are keeping his condition a closely guarded secret and it is difficult to ascertain just how sick the man who ruled Kenya with an iron hand for 24 years is.
Moi was last seen in public on Saturday 28th May this year when he presided over the thanksgiving ceremony for Dr Henry Kiptiony Kiplagat, the Kabarak University Deputy Vice Chancellor in charge of Administration and Finance, who graduated on Friday with Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa. Those who attended the function say that he looked uncustomarily frail and was not his usual energetic self.
Moi is 91 years old and that is an age where plenty can go wrong healthwise for anybody. This is despite the fact that the man has always been known to keep an extremely healthy diet and was a teetotaler his whole life. An interesting aside here is that during his presidency the previously busy bar within presincts of State house Nairobi remained firmly shut and only resurrected when President Mwai Kibaki took over residency and the reigns of power in 2002.
Picture below shows President Moi in 1980 at State house Nairobi with recently deceased boxing great Mohamed Ali.
The following is a conversation ongoing on Facebook that was triggered by the posting of the photograph and comment above (that photo of an innocent small boy has been widely used for Luo bashing in conversations of a certain community right across social media). The varied responses received which I reporduce below should be an eye opener to thinking Kenyans...
G.M: True
K.C.: weee wacha uchokozi
R.N.: I do feel that this is under the belt M.K., that is a child who has no personal input to your post!! Just my opinion.
M.K.: Mmmmmh noted
O.A.: Some people just thrive on abusing others and in my youth no female of their community ever denied me ati I was not circumcised
M.K.: Thats Because you must have been legendary in matters after hours
K.C.: My buddy M.K. what we need most in our beautiful country right now is tolerance, empathy and the ability to see things from the other guys' point of view. In my personal view JUBILEE is the best, most efficient government we have had since indipendence. Try and get an ID replacement and you will agree with me. HOWEVER it is also true that our much maligned brother on the other side of the divide won the election in 2007 (by a landslide). Turn the tables and imagine what you would have felt. I know you are NOT a tribalist coz I know you well and your close friends too who run across the political divide.
M.K.: SoooooooO??? Make your point sir!
M.K. .....and what landslide is this you are referring to?
M.O.: Train up a child in the way he should go...and when he is old he shall not depart from it...
M.K.: Proverbs 22.-6
K.D.M.: I thought this was an okay post - nothing to do with anyone. Let's not catch feelings unnecessarily.
C.M.: Let's make this brief. .
Denigrating anyone based on their ethnic or religious background is myopic and dangerous.
Veiled tribalism/racism disguised as humour is downright shameful. Having being raised in a cosmopolitan neighbourhood with people of various backgrounds and nationalities has made me privileged. I can't say the same for all. . R.N. thanks for your courage. . With you 100%. . way below the belt. .!!
M.K.: I don't know about you, but if before you comment, bother to reflect and count the number of times you have thrown a stone pre/post circumcision. ....mmmmmh
K.C.: How many US presidents have been circumcized? Very very few indeed. And that's the toughest job in the world. Also latest research has revelealed that circumcision is one of the causes of erectile dysfunction in men from a very young age (it all has to do with sensitivity). Finally it is very easy to profile any tribe in Kenya in a negative way. No tribe is superior I choose to deal with and profile individuals instead. And so if one politician or me for instance gets under your skin why profile the entire community I come from?
K.C.: GOD has interesting ways of humbling us. Take a situation where you have a life-threatening illness and you are referred to the top specialist who happens to belong to a certain tribe you have been profiling and ridiculing (very likely in this case as you all know, these guys are brilliant and end up as top doctors, engineers etc). Would you do a Kimunya (I would rather die than...)????
See other recent posts;
Who takes most of the blame for IEBC chaos? The answer will surprise you
Odinga and Kenyatta's top secret foreign bank account
