Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho on Sunday sent a birthday message to Retired President Mzee Daniel Moi.
Via his social media, the County Head celebrated the former president as a uniting figure in Kenya who had retired in grace.
"As the saying goes, youth is a gift of nature but old age is a work of art. To H.E Daniel Arap Moi, happy birthday Mzee.
"You played a key role in fostering peace, love and unity amongst Kenyans. You have also set standards of dignity for our leaders when they leave public office," he wrote on Twitter.
His sentiment riled up a section of Kenyans who remembered the former president in a different light.
"Moi almost crippled Kenya with his theft and poor leadership. I don't agree with you that he deserves any honours. He should be in Kamiti," one user noted.
"Governor, you need to get serious. What do you gain by lying to a man this old? He nearly ran this country bankrupt. For your information, there was no multiparty democracy during his time," another chimed in.
A netizen told off Joho stating; "Bwana Governor this is a total lie, the only thing most of the Kenyan citizens can remember and won't leave in their memories for this old man is the torture, killing and massacres so because of self-political interest don't be misguided."
Another simply wrote; "This is the worst birthday speech I have ever heard... like a D- to be generous...It was a total flop ...Pull up your Socks Sultan."
Earlier in August, Joho paid a visit to Mzee Moi in his Kabarak home to get a "word of wisdom" and wish him good health.
At the time, Joho tweeted; "In the spirit of Building bridges and fostering unity, I was honoured to sit down with former President H.E Daniel T. Moi at his home in Kabarak. I was fortunate to hear his wisdom on some national issues and thanked him for his time at the helm of this country."
