KENYA: It was a moment many Kenyans thought might never come. A colossal crowd roared its approval in a Nairobi park yesterday, as a stony- faced Mr Daniel arap Moi handed the presidency to his opposition successor, Mr Mwai Kibaki.
"You have asked me to lead this nation out of the present wilderness and malaise on to the promised land and I shall do so," the 71-year-old veteran politician said to wild cheers.
Mr Kibaki took his oath of office from a wheelchair, following a car accident earlier this month.
Then the brass band burst into the Swahili tune Funga Safari, or End of the Journey. It seemed dedicated to Mr Moi, who sat impassively beside him through the ceremony.
With his trademark gold and ivory baton balanced on his lap, the 78-year-old former president watched the ceremony calmly. Then when he rose to speak, the microphones failed. The crowd watched him mouth his final, unknown words. It seemed apt.
After 24 years of authoritarian and increasingly unpopular rule, Mr Moi has suddenly become irrelevant. By the end of his short speech, some were already chanting "Without Moi, everything is possible".
He says he plans to retire to his farm on the Rift Valley.
Mr Kibaki acknowledged he was inheriting a country "badly ravaged by years of misrule and ineptitude". Not coincidentally, those of the Moi era responsible for the damage were seated on the dais behind him.
Addressing voters main concerns, Mr Kibaki said corruption "will now cease to be a way of life in Kenya". Police would no longer mount roadblocks - their primary means of bribe collection - at will. Civil servants would not steal public funds.
He said he would restore "judicial independence" - a clear dig at the bewigged Chief Justice, Mr Bernard Chunga, who heads one of Africa's most notoriously corruptible benches.
The inauguration had been hastily organised and it showed. As the ceremony delayed under the hot morning sun, the impatient crowd rained stones and clods of earth on the police and waiting media.
Hordes of pickpockets mingled with the crowd, stealing mobile phones.
The lack of organisation however was compensated for by an intoxicating euphoria.
Young men scaled the outside face of a nearby 10-storey building to get a better view. Others carried placards such as "We are out of Egypt".
Later in the day, radio stations carried emotional testimonies. One caller said: "For the first time I feel emotional about being a Kenyan. I nearly cried."