It is not every day that we see the son of a Kenyan politician being famous for another reason away from politics. Especially if your father was the longest serving President on the land.
But Jonathan Moi managed to achieve that. He will be remembered as one of the most iconic rally drivers Kenya has ever had. He used to drive a Toyota Celica car. He retired from the sport in the early 2000.
But that does not mean that he didn’t try out politics. He vied for the Eldama Ravine Parliamentary seat in 2002 but was beaten hands down by Musa Sirma. He realized he was not cut fort this and took a back step, choosing to advise his younger brother Gideon.
Jonathan, like his father, will also be remembered for grabbing public land. In 1994, he sold 1,000 acres of land to the NSSF. The Prince had hived the land from Ngong forest. Unfortunately for him, the land was returned back to the forest in 2017.
Jonathan was also heavily mentioned in the murder of British Wildlife Photographer Julie Ward. Julie was murdered controversially at Masai Mara Game Reserve in September 1988. He father released a long dossier in 2012 implicating Jonathan to the murder. He has never been charged in a court of law.
Early this year, news broke that one of Moi’s grandson had abandoned his girlfriend at a hotel in Kitale with a sh,100,000 bill. It was later revealed this was Collins, the son of Jonathan Moi.
Jonathan succumbed to cancer at the age of 62 on Friday evening. President Uhuru Kenyatta described him as a humble, kind, generous and courageous person.