the attendees that he had the support of Uganda, Tanzania, and Sudan, who would send their soldiers to the borders to counter any opposition. He went further to allege that he had the blessings of the Soviet Union, which would send a ship to the Kenyan coast to guard against any external interference. Details of the impending coup were known by senior military officials. James Kanyotu, the Directorate of the Kenya Security Intelligence had infiltrated the military and was also aware of the coup plot. After the opening ceremonies of the Nyeri ASK Show on Friday, 30 July, Kanyotu asked President Moi to give him permission to arrest the officers who were planning the coup. However, President Moi was not willing to involve the police in military matters. He preferred the matter to be dealt with internally by the military on Monday, 2 August. However, the coup happened on Sunday, 1 August before any action could be taken. Why the coup failed Oteyo said that the coup failed because most of the soldiers did not execute their parts of the plan, as they were drinking and looting instead of going to arrest the president and his ministers. The coup leader, Ochuka, had gone to fetch a radio presenter, Leonard Mambo Mbotela. The plotters' poor organisation left the rebels unprepared for a counter-attack. They failed to capture or kill any of the political leaders they had targeted and did not seize the army headquarters. The air force rebels also lacked support from within the army, leaving them with no armor or heavy arms to take and hold key installations. Aftermath The coup left more than 100 soldiers and perhaps 200 civilians dead, including several non-Kenyans. After the failed coup, the organizers were arrested and tried by court martial at the Army's Langata Barracks. Corporal Bramwel Injeni Njereman, who was an armaments technician, was the second to be convicted of treason on 24 November 1984. He was found guilty of five overt acts, and sentenced to death by hanging. Corporal Walter Odira Ojode was the first to be charged with the same offence, on 16 December 1982, of which he was found guilty; he also received the death penalty. Both appealed their cases and lost. Their death sentences, together with those of coup mastermind Ochuka and his counterpart Pancras Oteyo Okumuwere, were carried out on the night of 10 July 1985 at