In what was one of Kenya's most breathtaking political upsets, Moses Mwihia faked his own death just days before the vote; only to return and defeat former President Uhuru Kenyatta at the polls.
The plot appealed to public sentiment, turning what seemed like a lost cause into a dramatic upset in Gatundu South.
What had to be an easy win for Kenyatta suddenly became political intrigue as Mwihia's unannounced move sent his competitor and the people into bewilderment. That was how things evolved:
Uhuru first contested the Gatundu South parliamentary seat in 1997. Despite being the clear frontrunner, he lost in a shock. But his opponent, Moses Mwihia, did not get victory conventionally; he used devious tactics to deceive the electorate and get them on his side.
With just weeks to the elections, Mwihia and his friends had a well-thought-out strategy to manipulate sympathy. Having established Kenyatta was the front-runner, they orchestrated a staged disappearance, fuelling speculation that the government had killed him for speaking against the son of the founding father, Jomo Kenyatta.
Three days before the election, Mwihia's nephew called the press and told them that his uncle had vanished after a threat on his life.
To give the story a higher degree of believability, they used animal blood from the slaughterhouse and abandoned a car of the same make as Mwihia's along the River Thiririka, close to Kenyatta's house.
The sight of the car covered in blood fuelled outrage, and angry residents went into the streets to protest.
With elections only a day away, Uhuru did not have an opportunity to clear his name, therefore creating an impression that he was with the alleged perpetrators.
On election day, the citizens, angered by the supposed assassination, voted for Mwihia in protest against the government.
In the afternoon of the election day, hours after Uhuru had voted, Mwihia appeared resurfaced, claiming he had been held by agents of the state and forced to withdraw from the election.
At that moment, residents had already voted for him in protest. By the time the total count was released, Mwihia had won with over 22,000 votes, while Uhuru got around 10,000 votes.
The divisive victory entered history books as one of the boldest political gambits ever attempted in Kenya's elections.
Uhuru's loss in 1997 was his initiation into the rough life of politics. However, his fortune changed in 2001 when the late President Daniel Moi appointed him to Parliament to take the seat of Mark Too, who had been 'coerced' out.
With his foot firmly in politics, Uhuru was made Minister of Local Government, climbing the ranks steadily. His climb reached its peak in 2013 when he was elected Kenya's fourth president, a position he held for ten years before retiring in August 2022 following President William Ruto's election.
