Kenya's former strongman Moi says he backs Kibaki

NAIROBI, Aug 28 (Reuters) Kenya's influential former leader Daniel arap Moi said today he would back President Mwai Kibaki in his bid for re-election this year, further boosting the incumbent's chances of winning the vote.

Kibaki swept to power with a landslide victory in 2002 elections, ending 40 years of rule by Moi's Kenya African National Union (KANU) party, which had led the country since independence from Britain in 1963.

''After very careful assessment, informed by my political experience spanning half a century, I am convinced that Mwai Kibaki ought to be given the chance to complete the constitutionally accepted two-term tenure,'' Moi told a rare news conference at his home in Nairobi.

Moi stepped down in 2002 after a 24-year rule that was characterised by the torture of political opponents and graft that nearly ruined east Africa's biggest economy.

But he still commands great respect from Kenyans across the country, especially in his home province, the Rift Valley.

Kibaki has not yet formally declared his candidacy for the December elections, and Moi's endorsement came after months of speculation that the two men were plotting a political alliance.

In July, Kibaki appointed Moi as a special peace envoy to Sudan to help facilitate a peace deal in southern Sudan where Kenya has strong economic interests.

Today, Moi -- who once referred to himself as a ''professor of politics'' -- criticised opposition presidential candidates who he said lacked nationalist ideals and were focused only on ethnic issues.

''I must say that I am disappointed in the tribalism and selfish individual interests that have been entrenched in our society,'' the former president said.

He especially criticised the opposition Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), which split into two factions this month.

With four months to go before the presidential and parliamentary vote, Kibaki leads in several opinion polls, followed by two opposition rivals, veteran firebrand Raila Odinga and former Foreign Minister Kalonzo Musyoka.

REUTERS LPB PM1717