President William Ruto (centre), hands over the Eldoret City flag to Municipal Council  Chairman Julius Kitur after the elevation of Eldoret town to city status. Looking on are Uasin Gishu Governor Jonathan Bii (centre),Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and CS Lands Alice Wahome.. August 15, 2024. [Peter Ochieng,Standard]

Cheers rented the air as President Ruto made the announcement on Thursday. As part of the conferment, the president also awarded State honours to individuals among them athletes, philanthropists, and farmers for their distinguished services. 22 individuals were awarded.

Uasin Gishu Governor Jonathan Bii said: "As governor, I will ensure we organize another event to uniformly honour those who have made a lasting impact on our city. Even if your name wasn't mentioned, you are an essential part of our city's progress and we thank you for your immense contribution".

Even before the dust has settled, locals are now questioning the criteria used to identify the heroes. 

Those who participated in clearing the bush and contributing to the growth of the town, locals claim, were left out, and those named were meant to erase the rich history of the town.

“The criteria used to identify those honoured was skewed and meant to erase history,” stated Director of Kenya Farmers Association Kipkorir Menjo. 

Menjo attributed the growth of the city to individuals who took over the town after colonialists left the country. The majority of the people he said are farmers.

Late President Daniel Moi, farmers Kite Tiren who was the first farmer to acquire a combine harvester in 1948, the late Jackson Kibor, Salim Chepkeitany, Atnus Kandie, Kipchoge Keino he said were not recognized.

Menjo said the history of Eldoret City can never be complete without mentioning the old men adding that  Mzee Moi crowned the entire group.  

Menjo said Moi, whom he termed as the chief architect, established the Moi Barracks in the late 70s, Moi University in 1984, Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, and Eldoret International Airport.

“We have the barracks, universities, MTRH, CBK, airports, and polytechnic all attributed to the late President Moi and there was no mention of him! The late Kite Arap Tiren was the first African farmer to own a combined harvester in 1948. The late John Kibogy, Kahama, Athanus Kandie, Jackson Kibor, Muchai of White Castle, etc were not mentioned anywhere! The late Chesire too was a successful farmer who ran KFA efficiently on behalf of the farmers in Rift Valley region making them achieve tremendous success in farming,” he stated.

Moi University is the second-largest institution of higher learning after the University of Nairobi, while the MTRH is the second-largest referral health facility after Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi.

Moi was the chancellor of the university for 18 years, between 1984 when the institution was established, and 2002 when he retired. Moi pioneered Moi University as the second university in Kenya and the first university to be established in a rural setting.

“Moi seems to have seen far and planned before even revealing his intentions to grow the town without telling anybody. Moi pioneered monumental institutions that ignited the growth of Eldoret. There is no way now Eldoret could have qualified to be a city when you leave out Moi as one of the key pillars,” he added.

He said Moi pushed for the development of Eldoret and had assessed its potential beyond Kenya. Being an intersection point, the town he said provides a stopping point for people traveling to Uganda, Sudan, and other parts of the country.

“Moi from his assessment realized that it was easier to develop Eldoret as compared to his hometown Kabarnet,” he said.

Menjo said Moi in his many visits to the area would meet farmers, brief them of the plans he had, and encouraged them not to subdivide their agricultural land and invest more in the town.

He said Moi’s generation, the likes of Mzee Kibor took his (Moi) word seriously and moved to the city acquired property and invested.

Menjo said the city's status cannot be sustained by just a name but requires people to move in and invest. He said the city shouldn’t be left to fraudsters who seem to be taking over.

Menjo said in Eldoret he expects a monument of Moi, Kipchoge on behalf of the athletes, and Kite who was recognized as a farmer who was seen to have contributed to agriculture.

“The leaders should always consult to get the right people to be honoured, it is not late, the list can be reviewed, go back, get the right history, amend and add more names to the list of those to be honoured,” he added.

Joseph Too another resident said Moi would have been the first person to be recognized.

Too said it was shocking that notable people like Chesire Reuben who was the Asian President in the 1980s and who introduced the Asian cow breed to the region were left out. He said that those named in the list are not known and it should be reviewed.

“We need a proper list indicating the real heroes, some of those mentioned are strangers,” Too said.

Loyce Kibor said they were pissed off with the shoddy work done in naming the alleged heroes. While growing up

She noted that the majority of the heroes were locked out.

The founders of Elgon View, she said were nowhere on the list. The six founders among them Daudi Chumo, Jakson Kibor, and Garry Busienei she said accepted to turn their land to a municipality upon request by Mzee Moi.

“They subdivided the land to one acre each leading to the birth of now posh estate. All prominent people live in Elgon View,” she stated.

Professor Masibo Lumala, the Director of Open and Distance E-Learning at Moi University said Moi went to Kapsabet Boys and trained there in one of the colleges.

Lumala said Moi used to find time and hold meetings with local leaders in Eldoret State Lodge from Western Kenya and Nyanza and the larger Rift Valley.

He added that Moi believed in education and for a long time he served as the chairperson of the Board of Governors at Moi Girls Eldoret. He added that he also introduced Raymond, Raiply, Rivatex, and the first Central Bank outside Nairobi.

Moi founded the Moi Teachers Training College, currently the University of Eldoret. He said Moi did a lot not only for the town but the entire county.

“Moi decided that the Recruits Training Centre in Eldoret, he decided that we will have the second university in the Republic in Eldoret, he decided all these things and they happened, there is no better honour than making the generations remember him to come,” he added.

He said in his conversation with the local leaders he has always wanted to know beyond Moi’s contribution what other industries will help propel the city to be a 24-hour economy.

He said there is a need to honour the legends who contributed to its growth. “I must say that a country that does not honour its heroes, does not remember its legends, does not appreciate the role played by these people is not worth dying for. We have a problem of politicizing everything in this country to the extent that we don’t want people like Mzee Jomo Kenyatta who played a key role. We do not celebrate our own,” he said.

He said Moi cannot be ignored as he is the person behind what Eldoret is today adding that he had the option of going elsewhere.

“The name Moi rings a bell in every sphere, we may hate him, hate his party but trust me what he left in terms of his legacy cannot be overlooked. Looking at the institutions in this county Moi had a hand in everything. He was hands-on. The best thing we can do in this city is honour him, have a nice monument at the centre of the city, construct a library, and name it after him,” he said.

When called for a comment, Uasin Gishu Governor Jonathan Bill could not be reached on phone. He did not respond to text messages sent to him on WhatsApp. By Julius Chepkwony, The Standard