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Daniel arap Moi ruled Kenya using a strategic mixture of ethnic favouritism, state repression and marginalisation of opposition forces, utilising violence, detention and torture. State predation featured, with looting of finances, land grabbing and property seizure. Moi saw his rule coming to an end in 2002, given a ‘two-term limit’ under political liberalisation. From 1998 on, Moi engaged in a carefully calculated strategy to manage the presidential succession in his and his party's favour. In this article, Moi's strategy, the reasons for its ultimate failure, and the short-lived triumph of a new popularly elected regime are analysed in relation to three pillars of Kenyan politics: ethnic representation, resource accumulation and distribution, and a system of unbounded politics that ensures that party loyalty is transient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]