President Daniel Arap Moi's ascension to the presidency following Mzee Jomo Kenyatta's death on August 22, 1978, was faced by a major roadblock - in the literal sense of the word.
As soon as Mzee Jomo was declared dead, Moi's henchmen immediately took it upon themselves to ensure that it was their leader and former vice-president who took over.
Moi's 'quick-response' team comprised of then Head of Public Service- Geoffrey Kariithi, former Attorney-General- Charles Mugane Njonjo and the late Eliud Mahihu who was serving as Provincial Commissioner (PC) in Coast Province where Mzee died.
The three settled for a swift and stealthy strategy that involved locating Moi's physical location as soon as possible, followed by ferrying him to State House Nairobi for his swearing-in before word of Mzee's passing and succession plans spread.
Mr Kariithi, who was tasked with finding Moi's whereabouts, unsurprisingly found out that Vice President Moi was at his Kabarak home.
Time was of the essence and thus Kariithi sent a secret security team to escort Moi to State House, making sure to inform them to make the trip as short as was humanly possible.
However, news of the plans to hand the reins over to Moi soon made their way to James Mungai - then the Commander of Police Anti-Stock Theft unit based in Nakuru, and one of Moi's most vocal enemies.
Mr Mungai hurriedly mobilized his traffic police units and set up a major roadblock along the Nakuru-Nairobi road to ensure that Moi never made it to Nairobi for the swearing-in ceremony.
Luckily, Mr Kariithi insistence on speed paid off as Moi reportedly made it past the location of the roadblock before the police officers managed to set up the barricade.
Moi was sworn in by the then Chief Justice- James Wicks as soon as he arrived, leading Mr Mungai to flee to Switzerland in fear of retribution over his failed blockade.
He was however allegedly bundled back to the country by Interpol at Moi's behest to face justice for his treasonous act.
