Word: arap
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...most significant thing the public did last week was to give a rousing vote of confidence to Daniel arap Moi, 55. Arap Moi has been Kenya's President since the death 14 months ago of Jomo Kenyatta, the autocratic old warrior who secured the East African country's inde pendence from Britain in 1963 and ruled it like a benign colonial governor ever after. Not only did Arap Moi run without opposition in his own district,* but many old Kenyatta regime holdovers were ousted. Arap Moi will now be free to put his own imprint on Kenya...
...modest man who does not smoke or drink, Arap Moi was the flamboyant Kenyatta's somewhat faceless Vice President for eleven years before Jomo's death. Then, the conventional wisdom was that Kenya would be torn apart in a bloody tribal struggle for power, because no one in sight had anything like the following of the Mzee (Swahili for old man). But with the backing of the two most powerful Cabinet ministers belonging to the dominant Kikuyu tribe, Arap Moi was selected as the new President by the country's ruling party, the Kenya African National Union...
...drafted the bill, is personally opposed to polygamy on the ground that it is "a luxury and too expensive." His compromise marriage law was designed to be more acceptable to Kenya's parliamentarians, the majority of whom are polygamists. Even so, many of them had serious reservations. Kimunai arap Soi, an M.P. representing one of the Kalenjin tribal areas, charged that the bill would make it impossible to teach wives "manners" by beating them. "Even slapping your wife would be out," he fumed. He was eloquently supported by another male member, Wafula Wabuge, who said that African women loved...
Arguing that the proposed legislation was "very un-African," Arap Soi warned that "we are moving too far, too fast in Kenya." He need not have worried: Parliament by an overwhelming majority, shelved the bill for six months. For the time being, therefore, Kenyans may continue to slap as many wives as they can afford...
...President is well aware that political continuity is his major selling point. Says he: "I am confident we can contain any situation if we are seriously concerned with peace and stability." Arap Moi's program is relatively modest in its ambitions: it includes more equitable land reform, further diversification of the heavily agricultural economy, and increased Kenyan participation in private enterprise. He has also vowed to fight political corruption. That could be a real challenge. Among the Kenyans who prospered mightily during Mzee's regime were members of his extensive family. Kenyatta's widow Mama Ngina, among...