- Njiru said while most Kenyans thought President Moi gave priority to members of his community when it came to government employment, the late Head of State liked upholding regional balance.
The biggest misconception that Kenyans had about the late President Daniel arap Moi is that he was a tribalist, his Press Secretary Lee Njiru says.
Speaking on Citizen TV's JKL show, Njiru said while most Kenyans thought President Moi gave priority to members of his community when it came to government employment, the late Head of State liked upholding regional balance.
"The biggest misconception was that he was a tribalist. I do not know why... When people looked at State House and saw black people, they thought you are a tribalist, especially the presidential press," said Njiru.
He went on to recount that when he served as Press Secretary for President Moi, his deputy was from the Coast region, his Chief Information Officer was from Western adding that several others including cameramen and photographers were from Western Kenya and Mt. Kenya region.
"People thought all those were Kalenjins because they were black," he said, further adding, "The president may not have known about messengers. People who employed messengers had a tendency of employing people from their villages but it was not Moi's policy. Mzee wanted regional balance."
Njiru noted that even President Uhuru Kenyatta might also not know the communities from which the grass cutters at State House come since he is too busy with matters of State.
"Some people (Presidents) are let down by the people who are supposed to do better," he said.
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