Key strategists around the main opposition challenger Mwai Kibaki were a worried lot in the run-up to the 1997 elections.

Long deliberations analysed the 1992 elections and concluded that in presenting himself as a safe, steady and predictable pair of hands, in contrast to the erratic Kenneth Matiba and the opposition pioneer Oginga Odinga, Mr Kibaki had instead emerged as a wimp.

At the deliberations would be the Muthaiga Country Club set of old friends like Mr Joe Wanjui, Mr Nat Kangethe and Mr George Muhoho.

Mr Kangethe, who owned the local affiliate of global advertising giants Saatchi & Saatchi, used his contacts to bring in a set of political consultants from South Africa, and they concurred.

Their solution? A radical makeover so that Mr Kibaki would shed the 'General Kiguoya' tag and become the Matiba-like fighter who so captured the imagination of Kenyans.

Mr Kibaki, who, during the 1992 elections and the intervening period, had never directly attacked President Moi, was now coached to go for the jugular and turn the campaign into a fierce crusade to oust the incumbent.

Instead of merely attacking the sorry record of the Kanu government and offering his prescriptions, Mr Kibaki was reminded by his handlers that Kenyan voters wanted more than merely an economist.

The opposition wanted a tough politician to wage a relentless battle against the Moi machinery. From that time on, the 1997 campaigns saw a different Mr Kibaki, but he still seemed restrained, almost apologetic, when it came to directly attacking Mr Moi.

Come the 2002 polls, and the outgoing President Moi needed a successor, he settled on newcomer Uhuru Kenyatta.

The decision provoked a mass walkout from Kanu led by party newcomer Raila Odinga, and the direct beneficiary was Mr Kibaki, who had emerged natural candidate for a new opposition alliance. To no surprise Mr Kibaki won hands down.

One thing for sure was that President Kibaki would never hound his predecessor, and the gesture was reciprocated when Mr Moi supported his bid for a second term in 2007.

Now the two are suddenly going hammer and tongs at each other on the constitution campaigns, with President Kibaki abandoning his usual reserve to launch direct attacks on Mr Moi and galvanise the campaign on its home stretch.

It is as if the South African consultants have been recalled to remind him that it pays to be a fighter.