From: Owor Kipenji <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] CC: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: ugnet_: Ex-President Moi not dictator Date: Wed, 1 Oct 2003 22:19:06 +0100 (BST)
There are many times that we have always called leaders dictators because in so doing it assuages our own deep seated hatred that we harbor about them.The article below is about the retired ex-president of Kenya Mtukuffu Rais Daniel Toirotich Arap Moi.I am forwarding it here for our information and get the true definitions of what and who dictators really are other than muddling in relative definitions of the same to serve our erstwhile Xenophobias. Read on. Thank you. Kipenji. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Letter
Thursday, October 2, 2003
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Ex-President Moi not a dictatorWas former President Moi a dictator? A section of the Press has being saying so. Are they justified?
According to the dictionary, a dictator is "one who has obtained power over his country by force and uses it in a cruel way."
The above definition does not describe Moi's leadership. On the contrary, it fits well the likes of Samuel Doe of Liberia who took power in a coup and was overthrown, Idi Amin of Uganda who overthrew Milton Obote, Jean-Bedel Bokassa of Central African Republic, Haile Mariam Mengistu of Ethiopia, Siad Barre of Somalia, Mobutu Sese Seko of the DRC, and Omar Bashir of Sudan.
Europe, too, had Hitler of Germany who massacred six million Jews, Ozal Turgut of Turkey, and Francisco Franco of Spain.
Asia produced Pol Pot of Kampuchea, Park Chung Hee of South Korea, Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines, and Saddam Hussein of Iraq.
The Americas too had theirs: General Jorge Rafael Trujillo of Argentina, Fidel Castro of Cuba, and Gen Augusto Pinochet of Chile among others. The list of dictators is long.
Dictatorship is characterised by the shedding of blood. For instance, in Uganda alone, about 500,000 lost their lives. It is estimated that about four million Africans have died in civil wars formented by these dictators.
Dictators have used coups and counter-coups to ascend into power, and they start by suspending the constitution
On the other hand, Moi came to power constitutionally after the death of Jomo Kenyatta. He surrendered power last year to Kenya's third president. Are these the hallmarks of a dictator?
A dictator has no respect for the rule of law. Were Moi a dictator, he would have refused to hand over power and declare last year's General Elections null and void. Dictators have no shame. Cruelty and violence are the only language they know.
Kenya's main problem is that the presidency is excessively powerful, which promotes the existence of cliques around the incumbent that wield the power without accountability. The problem has always been the constitution, not the President.
The Moi of the one-party era was completely different from the Moi of the multiparty era. Before multipartyism, he could detain his political opponents at whim, but towards the end, he was a lot more tolerant, and would stand all sorts of ridicule by the Press.
In short, Moi was not a dictator, just a product of his times.
JOHN CHERUIYOT,
Nairobi.
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