Challenge to the Constitution
By: Gerry Loughran
THE NATION celebrated its 10th birthday in 1970 unrecognisable from the feeble infant of a decade ago. It had turned its first profit in 1968 and overtook the Standard’s circulation in 1969. At the time of the anniversary, both the Sunday Nation and the Daily Nation sold well over 46,000 copies per issue. A new rotary press was installed, one of the most advanced in Africa, which enabled the newspapers to print photographs and advertisements in full colour. And a long-held determination of the Aga Khan – to turn the group into a public entity – was achieved. The idealism behind making shares available to the African public was underpinned by the protection which African co-ownership might provide against possible nationalization. The Aga Khan made available 40 per cent of his holding, 1.2 million shares at five shillings each, and this offer was more than twice over-subscribed among 3,200 individuals and institutions. The group’s payroll by then topped 800.
The first major story of the decade came right next door, in Uganda, when an unknown junior army officer, Idi Amin, overthrew President Milton Obote, leading his country into an era of misery and murder. Within a year of seizing power, Amin signaled his tyranny to the outside world by expelling Uganda’s 80,000-strong Asian community and expropriating its properties. He declared himself President for Life and banned the Nation, among other newspapers, for “their perpetual stand against the Government where they distort the true picture of the country”.
Githii was welcomed back to the newsroom in December 1972 after editor-in chief Boaz Omori died suddenly from acute hepatitis. Sadly for the newspaper, Githii was to oversee one of its darkest episodes, which lost it the confidence of many readers and cost the company much of its hard won prestige. In a hugely controversial development in 1975, the Nation reported that the populist MP, JM Kariuki, was safe and well in Zambia when in fact his bullet-riddled body was lying in the Ngong Hills. The Nation’s stance was perceived as an attempted cover-up and students protested angrily outside Nation House. An internal inquiry absolved Githii from any sinister ill-intention in the handling of the story. But when later he became involved in disputes concerning the Shia Bohra community of Muslims, he was adjudged to have infringed in-house rules which forbade taking sides on religious issues. Githii resigned in 1978 and was succeeded by Joe Rodrigues, a widely-admired journalist who had been with the Nation since its earliest days.
During Githii’s second stint, he had come in at a time when there was intense interest focused on the so-called Change the Constitution battle. It was clear that with Kenyatta ageing and remote, a group of powerful leaders were manoeuvring to remove Vice-President Daniel arap Moi from office so that one of them could eventually accede to the presidency. The constitution provided that if a president died in office, his duties would be assumed by the vice president until an election was held within 90 days. This was the clause the challengers wanted changed. The Nation, at that time still under Githii, was having none of it and either ignored much of the clique’s outpourings or condemned them in forthright terms as a naked grab for power. Attorney-General Njonjo delivered the coup de grace when he declared that it was treason punishable by death to talk or write about the possible death or deposition of the President.
When Kenyatta told his ministers at a meeting at Nakuru that Njonjo’s statement was final, the budding rebellion was over and Moi’s position was safe. That this issue was so finally and clearly concluded was to prove a boon to the country when Kenya’s first president, then 86, died in his sleep in State House, Mombasa, on August 22, 1978. Moi was sworn in then elected unopposed as President without incident. Njonjo later stated that a private army, known as the Ngoroko, had been formed to assassinate key national leaders on the day of Mzee’s death. The squad was allegedly formed by members of the Kenya Police Anti-Stock Theft Unit and Njonjo said it was led by Rift Province police chief James Mungai. Mungai fled the country after Njonjo’s statement but was later allowed to return. Why the plot was not put into effect was never elucidated and a high security official subsequently cast doubt on the veracity of the Ngoroko claims.
Moi’s accession was acclaimed by a huge crowd as he announced the release of all political detainees, abolished school fees up to standard six and declared a 10 per cent pay increase for workers in both the public and private sectors. Soon after, Moi spelled out his Nyayo philosophy of following in the footsteps of Kenyatta, then travelled to Britain and met Queen Elizabeth on a state visit.
