Former President Daniel Moi has always been described as one of the most strict and feared leaders in the history of the country's politics.
This has largely been attributed to his handling of critics and those who opposed his administration and he is accused of torturing them and forcing others into exile.
However, one man who served as an Assistant Minister in Jomo Kenyatta and Moi Governments once took the former Head of State head-on forcing him to flee from Parliament.
John Keen was known to be one of the boldest politicians who was never shy of drama and controversy during his political career.
In 1975, former Nyandarua North lawmaker JM Kariuki was assassinated and a commission formed by the government to probe the murder.
When the matter was introduced in Parliament in the presence of fellow cabinet ministers and Moi, who was the then Vice President, MPs led by Keen got furious forcing the VP to run for safety.
The following day, the assistant minister is said to have carried a pistol into the National Assembly vowing to fight in case anyone tried to arrest him.
“I carried my gun with me just in case somebody wanted me to disappear JM's way. Should that happen, I thought I should go down fighting,” he once narrated.
This was not the first time Keen was getting into trouble having proposed overthrowing of the Kenyan, Ugandan and Tanzanian Governments as the only way to have the three nations become one - an idea he had frequently advocated for.
Following the remark, he was arrested by police and detained without trial for close to nine months.
The former reporter expressed dismay that Moi actually appointed him Assistant Minister in the Office of the President after he ascended to power in 1978.
“Somehow, Moi trusted me. Though hot-headed, I was honest with him. I was one of the very few people who could tell him to his face what he didn’t want to hear,” he recalled.
After dozens of years of lighting political fireworks, Keen who was former Kajiado MP, died on December 25 last year and was later buried at his home in Namanga, Kajiado County.
