Half A Victory

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FOR A PRESIDENT HOUNDED BY ALLEGATIONS OF HUman rights abuses, economic mismanagement and corruption, the odds of winning re-election might seem about as good as the chances of surviving a head-on collision with a train. That, at least, was the opinion of many Kenyans one year ago, when President Daniel arap Moi started his campaign after Western donors cut off development aid, demanding that he abandon his single-party rule and hold an election. Fortunately for Moi, however, the opposition turned out to be so deeply divided that the President emerged the apparent winner in his first electoral encounter in 14 years. Running against seven challengers, he squeaked by with 38% of the popular vote, though half of his Cabinet ministers went down to defeat. Moi's victory may ultimately prove to be Pyrrhic: widespread reports of fraud, vote rigging, bribery and government intimidation prompted opposition leaders, at last in unison, to reject election results and demand a new vote.