Kenya Swears In Kibaki As New President
By ANDREW ENGLAND
Associated Press Writer

December 30, 2002, 10:57 AM EST

NAIROBI, Kenya -- Mwai Kibaki, sworn in Monday as Kenya's third
president after a landslide victory that brought the opposition to power
for the first time, vowed to tackle the enormous task of rebuilding his
East African nation. 

"I am inheriting a country which has been badly ravaged by years of
misrule and ineptitude. There has been a wide disconnect between the
people and government," Kibaki said as tens of thousands of his fellow
citizens roared their approval in Nairobi's downtown Uhuru Park. 

"You have asked me to lead this nation out of the present wilderness and
malaise on to the promised land, and I shall do so. I shall offer a
responsive, transparent and innovative leadership," the 71-year-old
economist and veteran politician said. 

Seated in a wheelchair with his right leg in a cast after a Dec. 3
automobile accident, Kibaki received a 21-gun salute as he took the oath
of office. Outgoing President Daniel arap Moi sat next to him,
stony-faced, after the crowd greeted his arrival with jeers and
whistling. 

Many Kenyans blame Moi, in office for 24 years, for the rampant
corruption that plunged Kenya into its worst economic crisis since
independence from Britain in 1963. 

"We have been tormented for many years," said 18-year-old Eric Akoth,
waving a placard proclaiming "Youth have faith in Kibaki." "We are here
to celebrate a new government." 

The general elections Dec. 27 that brought Kibaki and his opposition
alliance to power dealt a humiliating defeat to the ruling Kenya African
National Union, or KANU, which had governed since independence. 

Kibaki offered his opponents "the hand of friendship ... forgiveness and
reconciliation." 

But the crowd gave him its loudest ovation when he said: "It would be
unfair to Kenyans not to raise questions about certain deliberate
actions or policies of the past that continue to have grave consequences
on the present." 

As Kenyans awaited an official tally, provisional election results gave
Kibaki 63 percent of the vote, compared to 30 percent for KANU candidate
Uhuru Kenyatta. With at least 122 seats, Kibaki's National Rainbow
Coalition was guaranteed an absolute majority in the 210-seat
parliament. 

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan congratulated Kibaki on his victory in
a statement from New York, saying the United Nations would "continue to
support the efforts of the new government and people of Kenya to
consolidate the democratic process, improve governance and foster
economic development." 

Moi, 78, an autocratic leader whose successive governments were
notorious for corruption and patronage, hosted a lunch for Kibaki and
guests at State House, the modest presidential headquarters that once
served as the seat of the British colonial government. Moi plans to
retire to his farm in the western Rift Valley. 

Moi was obliged to step down after his second five-year term under a
multiparty system restored to the constitution in 1991. Kibaki served as
his vice president from 1978-1988. 

Despite bureaucratic glitches and unseasonably heavy rains, the
elections for president, parliament and more than 2,000 local councilors
were described by local and international observers as the most free and
fair in Kenya's history as an independent nation. 

The presidents of Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia, the prime minister of
Rwanda, and Zanele Mbeki, wife of South African President Thabo Mbeki,
witnessed the swearing-in ceremony. 

It was not immediately clear when Kibaki would announce his Cabinet or
how long the transition would take. 

But to Joseph Mutemwa, a 38-year-old businessman, Kibaki's inauguration
has already put Kenya on the road to recovery. "I think they are going
to improve the economy so our children can learn to read," he said. "...
It's a very big day -- with a big B." 
Copyright © 2002, The Associated Press

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