When former president Daniel arap Moi took over the reins of power in September 1978, he resolved to follow in the footsteps of his predecessor the founding father the late President Jomo Kenyatta.
He soon coined the name Nyayo, a Swahili word for footsteps.
Subsequently, he launched projects during his tenure featuring the name Nyayo in the spirit of tackling the three major challenges facing the country namely poverty, ignorance and disease.
Under self-rule, Moi served longest span of 24 years as president during which his government was tasked with devising strategies to deal with these three enemies of development.
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Former President Moi embarked on country wide tours to assess development needs of both urban and rural areas. Several projects were launched during his tenure bearing his name and the name Nyayo.
Maziwa ya Nyayo
Former president Moi had great love for Kenyan children.
In 1979, just a year after ascending to power, Moi introduced the free school milk concept, known by many as Maziwa ya Nyayo that was enjoyed by all who attended primary school until 1996 when the project was halted apparently due to lack of funding.
The free school milk programme is said to have raised enrolment in primary schools by over 23 percent in just one year from its inception.
Subsequently, farmers were challenged to increase milk production with the increasing demand.
With that, the former teacher’s love for education saw his government introduce the 8-4-4 system of education in January 1985 that placed a high premium on practical and vocational training.
Moi institutions
This also set the stage for a major expansion of university education in the country among them Moi University that was established in Njoro in 1984.
During his visits to secondary schools across the country, many girls schools adopted his name. He built most of these schools, renovated or supported them with his own funds.
A case in point is the Moi High School in Kabarak, formerly Kabarak High School, for which he donated land and built from scratch in 1979.
Moi further built Kabarak University on land that he donated.
Some of the schools named after him include Moi Girls Nairobi, Moi Girls Eldoret, Moi High School-Mbiruri (Embu), Moi Forces Academy among others.
Other institutions named after him include, Moi Air Base, Nairobi, Moi International Airport, Mombasa
Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani, Nairobi, Moi Stadium, Kisumu.
Roads and streets were also named after the long serving head of state namely, Moi Avenue – Mombasa, Moi Avenue – Nairobi, Moi Road – Kiambu to name but a few.
Nyayo wards
The Nyayo Wards were the beacon in President Moi’s health programme that focused on expansion of hospitals.
Most district hospitals witnessed the enormous construction of Nyayo wards despite challenges in health financing and expenditure.
To address this challenge, Moi called for harambees to help construct the Nyayo wards. The National Hospital Insurance Fund NHIF also underwent several reforms to offer mandatory health insurance to employees in the formal sector.
It was also during Moi’s tenure that AIDS scourge was declared a national disaster in November 1999.
This saw the establishment of the National Aids Control Council and tasked with leading the coordination of a multi-sectoral AIDS control programme in all sectors.
During the Moi presidency, the emphasis within agricultural policy switched from export promotion to food self-sufficiency.
Overall agricultural performance, and the economy in general, also declined.
Nyayo tea zones
A tea development corporation was established through a Legal Gazette Notice No. 265 of 1986 under his name, Nyayo Tea Zones Development.
The corporation which is in existence up to date aims to promote forest conservation by providing buffer zones of tea and assorted tree species to check against human encroachment into the forestland.
The Corporation also operates Kipchabo Tea Factory in Nandi County, and is constructing the 2nd factory at Gatitu in Kirinyaga County in 19 zones in the country.
