Kenya Suffers an Attempted Coup
By: Gerry Loughran

IN A SEMING reflection of its status, Kenya entered the 1980s hosting a number of international events. At the 30th general assembly of the International Press Institute in 1981, the Aga Khan, in a keynote address, called for higher Press standards. He listed responsible leadership, exchange of managerial and technical know-how and exchange of editorial expertise as ways in which quality could be enhanced and journalism could become a profession in the truest sense.

In May, Pope John Paul II visited Kenya and Uganda. A three-hour open-air Mass in Uhuru Park drew one of the largest crowds seen in Kenya. The pontiff told President Moi “May God accompany you in your endeavours to lead Kenya forward.” The following month, Kenya hosted the 18th Organisation of African Unity heads of state and government meeting at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre. The Nation praised Moi’s call to African leaders to adopt vigorous strategies to bring to make their countries prosperous and politically independent.

Matters were less cosy on the political and security front. In June of 1982, Kenya officially became a one-party state under Kanu. Two months later, the country finally experienced what had afflicted so many other African countries following their independence – an attempted coup d’etat. Early on August 1, elements of the Kenya Air Force from Nairobi and Nanyuki seized the Voice of Kenya studios and announced that Moi had been overthrown. Groups of students rejoiced on the streets and shops were looted in the city centre. But loyal troops recaptured the station hours later and by late afternoon the rebellion was over. The official death toll was put at 200 but it was almost certainly more, though the general reaction of the people was one of relief.

The Nation declared in an editorial: “The attempted takeover… is a grim reminder of the terror and anarchy that could be unleashed in this country in the event of a coup d’etat.” It renewed its pledge of loyalty to the President and the Government and called on all patriotic citizens to do the same. Turning the expectations outlined in the Aga Khan’s International Press Institute speech into reality, the Nation announced a unique twinning agreement with the Florida based St Petersburg Times. The deal provided for the exchange of staffers and information and formed part of an overall strategy to improve professional standards and make the group’s papers comparable to leading national newspapers in other parts of the world.
At this time, the Nation claimed 50.9 per cent of the market in display advertising, though it remained well below the Standard in classified advertising. Chairman Albert Ekirapa announced a Sh13.4 million pre-tax profit for the year ended September 1982, the second highest in its history. He described this as “a spectacular achievement considering the country’s increasing economic difficulties and other operational restraints”.

In July 1983, Peter Mwaura, who had followed Rodrigues as Editor-in-Chief, resigned and a new post of Group Managing Editor was filled by George Mbugguss, one of the Nation’s pioneer newsmen from 1960, who had edited Taifa Leo for 15 years. In the early 1960s, there were no more than 500 outlets for the group’s papers. By the time of Mbugguss’s appointment, there were 5,000 countrywide. These key distribution points became beehives of activity when Charles Njonjo, by then an MP and Minister for Constitutional Affairs, was accused in Parliament of being an anti-Government plotter, and a judicial inquiry was set up. Mbugguss plunged for saturation coverage and print orders at times exceeded 200,000.

Njonjo was found guilty of plotting but not of arrogating to himself the powers of the President and, in 1984, Moi announced he was pardoning his old ally “in view of his previous faithful service”. On March 20, 1985, the Daily Nation celebrated its 25th birthday with a handsome, ad-free, 102-page giveaway offering a year-by year account of the Nation story. The Aga Khan announced a scholarship programme to sponsor 86 students for four years at secondary-school level and chairman Ekirapa announced a record pre-tax profit of £1,011,700 – the first to pass the million sterling mark. Circulation moved past 150,000 per day.