Moi quickly consolidated his power, banning opposition parties and promoting his Kalenjin countrymen to positions of authority at the expense of the Kikuyu.

Like Kenyatta, he appointed people mainly from his ethnic group into important leadership positions and stemmed opposition through brute force and arrests.

Learning from fellow African leaders like Mugabe, Moi quickly became dictatorial and started ruling with an iron fist.

When Jaramogi Oginga Odinga and George Anyona sought to register a socialist opposition party in 1982, Moi struck back using the law he had passed to criminalise competitive politics and criticism of his leadership.

On 1 August 1982, a group of Kenya Air Force officers attempted a military coup to overthrow Moi's presidency.

Moi twice again amended the constitution to cripple oversight authorities such as the Judicial Services Commission and the Attorney General's office by removing their security tenure.

When multiparty politics were finally allowed in the county, Moi used power and influence to cause disagreements within the opposing parties, which helped him win the 1992 re-election with a wide margin.

A number of the champions of multiparty politics were arrested, detained without trial and tortured, including John Khaminwa, Raila Odinga, Mohammed Ibrahim, Gitobu Imanyara, Kenneth Matiba and Charles Rubia.

He also banned Ngugi Wa Thiong'o's play Ngaahika Ndeenda (Kikuyu for, "I Will Marry When I Want") considered by the regime to be subversive because it attacks post-independence African dictators.

During Moi's term as president, Kenya achieved a number of successes, including becoming a multiparty democracy, opening the JKIA.