Nairobi, April 21 -- In this first instalment of our exclusive serialisation of 'Calming the Storms', Francis ole Kaparo's memoirs, he reveals the intrigues that led to his election as perhaps Kenya's most consequential Parliamentary Speakers, navigating a turbulent political period.

It was at the beginning of 1993 that I vied for the position that was to give me a national profile.

The process of electing the Speaker of the National Assembly was intense, zero-sum and bruising. In a rapidly shifting legislative landscape, characterised by the entrance of the opposition in law-making, State House and other key organs were keen to safeguard whatever influence they could exert in the nation without facing too much by way of scrutiny.

To b...