Retired President Daniel Arap Moi once chaired a cabinet meeting under a tree.
The meeting occurred in 1982 in Machakos county during one of his famous projects on prevention of soil erosion.
During the occasion, none of the Cabinet Secretaries was in a suit and even Constitutional Affairs Minister and Kikuyu MP, Charles Njonjo, known to ever be in dark Savile Row pinstripes, was in jeans and a T-shirt.
Many were surprised by Moi's move but he justified the meeting saying it was meant to show his commitment to the course.
“This parliamentary session is not for talkers, it is for practical work," stated Moi.
[caption caption="Retired President Daniel Arap Moi"]
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After the brief meeting, the President and his ministers got down to business, building gabions comprising wire cylinders of soil and stones to fight soil erosion.
They also terraced hilly farm sides to retain soil fertility and tree planting with the rallying call "if you cut one tree, plant two".
The event went down as Kenya’s first open-air parliamentary session and Moi was among recipients of the UNEP Global 500 award for “active involvement in environmental projects like building gabions and planting trees.”
