Pilots remember Mzee as more lively

than successor Kibaki during flights

Moi cracked a lot of jokes while the third president was a
bit laid-back, preferring to read newspapers

ELVIS ONDIEKI I NATION Retired Colonel Hussein Farah (left) and Rtd Colonel
James Gitahi, who are former Kenya Air Force pilots who flew ex-President Daniel
arap Moi at different times between 1984 and 2002. They were at Bluebird Aviation,
a company based at Wilson Airport in Nairobi in which they hold senior positions.

BY ELVIS ONDIEKI EONDIEKI@KE.NATIONMEDIA.COM

Loose aircraft object > They say the rungu always caused trouble during take-off and
landing

Retired Kenya Air Force pilot James Gitahi flew Daniel arap Moi in a fixed-wing
aeroplane between 1992 and 2002 and later flew Mr Moi’s successor, Mwai Kibaki, till
2010.

In an interview over the weekend, we asked the retired colonel to mention one
difference between Moi, whose body is now lying in state in Parliament and Mr Kibaki.

“I think President Moi was more lively,” he responded.

“I remember when we were flying him on the Fokker (aircraft) especially on foreign
trips, or even local trips, he used to move up and down the aircraft. And you could hear
people laughing throughout.
I think he used to crack a lot of jokes. He was very jovial.

“Kibaki was a bit laid-back. He used to read a lot of newspapers.

But Moi was happy to watch wildlife movies. Sometimes he could watch Vitimbi (a local
comedy) — we had some of those videos on board — and he would really laugh. He
really enjoyed it,” Mr Gitahi added.

He spoke to the Nation at Wilson Airport in the company of another former Air Force
pilot — Retired Colonel Hussein Farah. The two are now among the top executives of
Bluebird Aviation, a company with a fleet of 18 aircraft. Mr Gitahi is the chief pilot,
while Mr Farah is the chairman and chief executive officer of the aviation firm.

The two have a lot of memories to share from the time they flew their one-time
commander-in-chief.

Mr Farah, 69, retired in 1992 after flying Mr Moi from 1984 and Mr Gitahi, 62, took
over from him until his retirement in 2010.

Their responsibility was to fly the fixed-wing aircraft that took Moi to various airstrips
across the country and sometimes outside Kenya. They got to become the President’s
pilots because in the Air force, they were posted to the special squadron that flies VIPs.

“In those earlier days, when the President flew overseas, he would use Kenya Airways.
All the internal flights were controlled by the Kenya Air Force,” Mr Farah said.

They described Moi as a hands-on man who desired to reach any part of the country
where his presence was needed, for regular presidential work or to respond to an
emerging issue. As such, it was normal to fly the President out of Nairobi or Kabarak
two or three days in a week.

“I’m yet to see if there will be another President who will cover this country the way
President Moi did,” Mr Farah said.

The retired military colonels spoke of the tokens of appreciation Moi gave — including
a piece of land he gave to Mr Farah.

“He did something for me that I will never forget. He gave me a piece of land, which
really gave me an opening to probably what I am today. It was because of that
consideration that I will never forget that man,” said Mr Farah.

One of the things that must have created the bond between Mr Farah and Moi was a
modification to a new presidential aircraft from North America.

“In 1990, I was sent as a project officer to Canada to go and oversee the manufacture of
the Dash 8 aircraft, which was part of the VIP squadron,” Mr Farah said.

Almost everything was in place but something in Mr Farah’s mind drew his attention to
the rungu the President always carried.
“After everything we did, including fixing the VIP seats, we realised that Mzee’s rungu
often caused us problems. When taking off and landing, it became a loose article in the
aircraft. There was need to secure it. So, on the side of his seat, we decided to put a tube
where that rungu could go in and sit safely until take-off or landing and then he could
take it,” Mr Farah explained.

“That was a very touching thing for the President because he felt we seriously went into
detail to take care of his welfare. So, it caused a lot of appreciation. We were amazed
how it really moved him,” he added.

Honest opinion The two pilots were in agreement that Moi was one humble man who
respected their counsel and sometimes sought their honest opinion on matters
affecting the country.

Mr Farah recalled: “If it was an early morning flight, for example, the first thing the
President would do is go through some documents and files.

“He would then go through the newspapers, then he would start chatting with his team:
The Cabinet, his security staff.”

“Every once in a while, he would come to the cockpit to talk to us, and ask us questions
on national issues. He would ask you, ‘What do you think of this?’ ‘What do you think
of that?’ And you would give your answers. And on several occasions, we saw him go as
we advised,” he added.

Mr Gitahi noted: “He would ask you anything. So long as you expressed yourself
truthfully, there was no issue.”

The ex-air force pilots also recalled how Moi was a stickler for punctuality. If he ever
came late, Mr Farah noted, he would apologise.

“You could even feel embarrassed that the Head of State is apologising for coming 30
minutes late,”

Mr Farah said.

And when it came to appreciating his pilots, Moi went all out. Tokens of appreciation
were commonplace.

Mr Farah recalled: “The President was a very considerate man.

And not only to me. For example, every end of the year during the Christmas period,
the President would call me and make sure that either he has provided a bull for our
team — that is the base who are supporting his flight; the Moi Airbase, Eastleigh — or
he would give you a token to go and tell them, ‘Enda uwapatie watu wako wafanye party
ya Christmas time.’”

Mr Gitahi also had memories of Mr Moi’s generous side.

“After you flew with him, he would give you some token, maybe a small amount of
money for you to share within the group. He was a generous man,” he said.

The last time Mr Gitahi flew Moi was in November 2002, when Mzee attended
functions in Uganda and Arusha.

The two pilots agree that it was a nervy job flying the Head of State, but his easy-going
nature and the trust he had in the pilots’ counsel made things easy.

“It was a very heavy responsibility,”

Mr Farah said.