President Daniel arap Moi appointed Franklin Bett to be Comptroller of Statehouse in January 1996. Kipkalya Kones was already a Minister in the Office of President in from 1993. The two are Kipsigis and alumni of Tenwek High School in Bomet County. There camaraderie was evident and often displayed in front of Moi.
After Franklin Bett’s promotion to be Statehouse Comptroller following the retirement of Abraham Kiptanui, he decided to hold a mega homecoming at Kericho town. Kipkalya Kones arrived in a military helicopter. Brigadier Alexander Sitienei who was Moi’s aid-de-camp (ADC) also attended.
The event is what caused a rift between Moi and the two Tenwek boys. During the event, the two vowed to ‘protect our own’. This meant that Kipkalya Kones was preparing for future presidency and the event turned to be some kind of an endorsement. Moi was monitoring the situation keenly. He asked Lee Njiru “Lee, who protects Kenyans? Are the Kipsigis people not in the same Kenya of which of I am the President?”. Of course Lee answered him that he was the President charged with constitutional responsibility of protecting every Kenyan. Moi then went into his usual analogy that one day as he was travelling to Kabarnet, baboons filled the road led by one gigantic baboon. They became adamant to pave way so he fired a shot into the air and they all scampered for safety. “I will fire some blasts at these officers,” Moi said.
True to his words, Franklin Bett was demoted a few days that followed to be PS for Environment and Natural Resources. Moi advised Lee that he should announce the news around 7PM so that if Franklin feels dizzy, he can go and sleep. Kipkalya Kones was axed in a major cabinet reshuffle that followed. His competitors Nicholas Biwott (Keiyo), John Koech (Kipsigis) were appointed to the cabinet.
Lee Njiru did not sympathise with Kones since he says he was full of pride. At one time, he went to Statehouse and released his driver to run some errands. Kones finished his business with Moi earlier and needed a car to drop him at his office. Kones asked Lee for his car, a Peugeot. Shortly after, Zipporah Kittony emerged with a Mercedes Benz and Kipkalya said he’ll not use a kiproroget, korogocho and switched to Zipporah’s car.
Lee further said Franklin Bett accorded Kipkalya Kones a lot of privileges in Statehouse including allowing him at some point to sleep at Eldoret State Lodge and ensuring that he was always strategically positioned for photographs and television cameras.
Kipkalya Kones was a major ally of Simon Nyachae who was also demoted from Ministry of Agriculture to Ministry of Water. In the same year, 1998, after launching a road in Kenya-Tanzania boarder in Isebania, Moi passed through Kitutu Chache Constituency to give support to KANU candidate Jimmy Angwenyi during by-election. He met Simon Nyachae who was so jovial and passionately campaigning for Jimmy despite his recent demotion. This was unlike Kipkalya Kones who swore never to share a table with Moi and he indeed did not join Moi at Midwest Hotel in Kericho for dinner as he was heading to Isebania.
According to Lee Njiru, Nyachae had mastered the art of political timing. He knew when not to antagonise the high and mighty when the time is not right. Probably he learned this when he was a PC, DC and DO and he was also a son of former colonial chief Musa Nyandusi.
