But early figures put Mrs Ngilu a poor fifth, with most of her votes coming from her native Eastern Province. Her main significance now is as a potential spoiler. To be re-elected, Mr Moi needs to win 25 per cent of the vote in five of Kenya's eight provinces. Mrs Ngilu's candidacy threatens to deprive him of a substantial block of the Kamba votes in one of the five provinces, which he won last time around. Although most members of the larger tribes now detest Mr Moi's Government for its corruption and misrule, they still seem unable to unite to get rid of him.
Idealism plays little part in Kenya's ethnic antipathies.
One Luhya woman, employed as a cleaner in Nairobi, said that as much as she wanted change, she would not vote for the Kikuyu leader Mr Kibaki if he were in a run-off against Mr Moi. Now it is time for the Luhyas to have their share. The apparent inability of ordinary Kenyans to see beyond their own tribe has kept Mr Moi in power against the odds. In 1992, amid claims of a massive vote-buying spree by the ruling Kenya African National Union party, and suggestions of serious irregularities, Mr Moi received only 36 per cent of the vote but still won easily. In the run-up to the poll the monolithic Forum for the Restoration of Democracy broke into ethnic splinter groups, each with its own presidential and parliamentary candidates.