High praise for ex-president Moi as MPs hold special sitting

Members of Parliament eulogised former President Daniel arap Moi as a statesman who succeeded in holding the country together during a difficult time in the history of the continent, even as they called for forgiveness if the country has to move forward from its ugly past.

In emotional debates in the two chambers of Parliament, punctuated by a one-minute silence, the lawmakers showered the fallen president with praises that sought to justify what others have called an iron-fisted rule.

They declared that he had left the country a better place than he found it.

At the Senate, Majority Leader Kipchumba Murkomen paid tribute to Moi, saying that under his 24-year rule, the full authority of the state had been felt across the country.

He added that Moi expanded education and gave people from marginalised areas a chance to access education.

“Going through his life history and considering the way he was humble, one gets the impression that this was a man called by God into leadership,” Mr Murkomen said.