Moi sacks vice president

Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi on Friday fired his long serving deputy, Professor George Saitoti, in a move seen to be linked to wrangles within the ruling party over who will be the presidential candidate in forthcoming elections. Saitoti, who has been Kenya's vice president for the last 13 years, recently publicly disagreed with Moi's choice of Uhuru Kenyatta - son of Kenya's founding president Jomo Kenyatta - as the preferred successor. Saitoti subsequently announced his intention to stand for election. A statement aired on Kenyan radio announced that Moi had "relieved" Saitoti of his vice-presidential post and his home affairs portfolio. William Ruto, an assistant minister in the Office of the President and prominent Moi supporter, was appointed home affairs minister. However, the vice-presidency was left vacant. Moi is expected to retire after completing his second five-year term in office this year as he is constitutionally barred from standing for a third term. A political observer told IRIN on Friday that Saitoti's sacking was "not shocking" and was in line with Moi's history of leadership. "Moi has never outlived the mentality that doesn't tolerate dissent. I would have been surprised if he had failed to sack him [Saitoti]," Opiata Odindo, spokesman for Kituo Cha Sheria [Kiswahili for Legal Aid Centre], said. Saitoti recently aligned himself with a group of other presidential contenders within the ruling Kenya African National Union (KANU) party - known as the "KANU Rainbow Alliance" - which is opposed to Moi's choice of successor. His sacking comes days after Moi dismissed two other ministers, Joseph Kamotho and Fred Gumo, for publicly criticising his choice. Earlier this week, Moi - who has been campaigning in favour of Uhuru Kenyatta - issued a warning to critics within KANU, which has been in power since independence in 1963. "Everybody must toe the line or otherwise quit," he told a public rally in the coastal city of Mombasa. He said KANU had "no room for dissenting fellows". "I shall use all mechanisms at my disposal to silence them," Moi warned. Odindo argued that the upcoming elections would not be fundamentally different to previous multiparty polls in 1992 and 1997, which were characterised by ethnic tension and corruption. "The dynamics of our politics have not changed," he said. "In the short run, there will be tensions. In the long run, what is happening now will be felt more by the person who will take over from Moi."