Moi served two consecutive terms as Chair of the Organization of African Unity (1981-1983), the longest any African Head of State had served. He took a tough position against the apartheid regime in South Africa, condemning its transgressions against the citizens of South Africa and other southern Africa countries. In December 1981, after apartheid forces invaded Lesotho, Moi said “The Pretoria racist regime continues to invade with impunity the neighbouring states in southern Africa under the pretext that these states are harboring opponents of apartheid. It is our firm believe that the racist Pretoria regime will never respect the international law of morality. Therefore, the international community must institute punitive actions against it.”

Moi’s Pan African role in peace-keeping started in 1979 when he allowed Kenyan soldiers to join the Commonwealth Monitoring Force in Zimbabwe (CMFZ) until 1980.
This was to ensure smooth transition to Independence. In June 1981 after Moi was elected the chairman of the OAU at a summit in Nairobi, he was involved in securing peace in Chad as the crisis pitting President Goukouni Wedeye and rebel leader Hissen Habre took a dangerous twist.

Kenya participated in the Chad missions between 1981 and 1982 and more than 20 other operations in Africa, Asia and Europe. Kenya was involved in UN observer missions in Mozambique, Angola, and Liberia among others.

But it was the Sudan and Somalia peace efforts that were most notable. In Sudan, Moi managed to chair the talks that finally led to the referendum that ended the war in southern Sudan and resulted in the creation of a new Nation – South Sudan. In Somalia, he started the long and tortuous discussion that culminated in setting up of the current government.

He deployed Kenyan troops as part of a number of peace keeping forces both within the African Continent and beyond, namely Chad, Uganda, Namibia, Mozambique, Morocco, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo in Africa and in Iran/Iraq, Kuwait, Yugoslavia, Liberia, Morocco, Angola, Serbia/Croatia, and East Timor outside Africa.

He was also involved in helping to mediate a number of conflict situations in several other African countries, including in Uganda, Congo, Chad, Mozambique, Eritrea/Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Burundi.

He served as Chairman of Preferential Trade Area (1989-1990), COMESA (Common Market for East and Southern Africa) (1999-2000 and of several other agencies.