Former firebrand Muslim cleric Khalid Balala ‘forgives’ Moi
Former head of Islamic Party of Kenya (IPK) Sheikh Khalid Balala says he will never forget “tough and a no-nonsense man”in fallen former President Moi.
The cleric, who in the 1990s was tortured under the Moi regime, said yesterday he had since made peace with Moi, adding he holds no personal grudge against the former head of State despite what befell him.
“I forgave him. I have no personal grudge against him, but I am yet to get the right compensation for general damages and specific relief over my incarceration. They awarded me Sh6 million but I refused,” said Balala.
The 63-year-old former firebrand preacher, was deported four times by Moi government to Frankfurt, Germany, between March 1994 and 1997.
Political ideologies
Balala, whose political ideologies at the height of the agitation for multi-partyism in the 1990s, rattled the Kanu government, said: “All I wanted is a better Kenya, where there is law and order, discipline and respect for other people’s rights.”
In an interview with People Daily in Balala said the State viewed him as “an enemy of the government” and denied him entry into the country numerous times.
“I was deported to Germany where I stayed stateless for four and half years. Just because they saw me as an enemy of the state.
I was stateless after the government revoked my citizenship. I was ejected once at Moi Airport, twice at Nairobi’s JKIA after they took all my passports,” he said.
