The stage is now set for a power struggle between the ruling Kenyan African National Union (Kanu) party and a group of influential dissidents that could lead to the first opposition victory at the polls since the country gained independence from Britain in 1963.

Six senior Kanu members, including Raila Odinga, the secretary-general, announced their defection after Uhuru Kenyatta, the son of Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya’s independence leader, was selected to succeed Mr Moi as the party’s candidate for presidential elections due in December.

The Kanu rebels, who decided to form a party in alliance with other opposition groups, claim that Mr Moi has imposed Mr Kenyatta to maintain his grip on power when his term of office expires.

Mr Moi, 77, whose 24 years in power make him one of Africa’s longest-serving heads of state, is barred from seeking re-election. He is widely regarded as a master manipulator who has maintained an autocratic rule despite the introduction of multi-party elections in 1992.

Mr Kenyatta, 41, a former businessman, was given a seat in Parliament only last year, became a Cabinet minister a few months later and was appointed vice-chairman of Kanu in March.

The Kanu rebels, along with the opposition Alliance Party of Kenya, have accused Mr Moi of choosing Mr Kenyatta to be his puppet. They also fear that Mr Kenyatta would block calls for the prosecution of Kanu officials, including Mr Moi, over allegations of rampant government corruption.

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