It’s a matter of national security, Haji says as he declines to reveal his net worth
Nominee for Director General National Intelligence Service Noordin Haji before the National Assembly Departmental Committee on Defence, Intelligence and Foreign Relations at the County Hall for vetting.
The Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji, who has been nominated to be the National Intelligence Service director general, on Tuesday afternoon requested not to reveal his net worth citing national security.
When he was asked by the chairman on national security to state his worth, he said: “I request to hand it over to you because this might become a matter of national security due to the nature of the office I will hold.”
Belgut MP Nelson Koech, who is also the chairman of the Defence and Foreign Relations Committee, agreed and announced that the document, which Mr Haji submitted to the committee would be circulated to the committee members.
Posed the same question
Later on, Saboti MP Caleb Amisi posed the same question in his line of questioning asking him to state his net worth.
Again, the chairman requested the members to reserve the sensitive questions for the tail end of the session when he will ask the members of the press to leave.
Mr Haji also weighed in on the war on terrorism saying that Kenya should cast its net wider.
He said it should be viewed as a problem brought about by Islamic extremism only.
"For a long time, terrorism has been viewed as a problem brought about by Islamic extremism. With Shakahola, we've seen that we'll have to cast our net much wider to cover Christianity, Hinduism and other extremism. Extremism can come from anybody," he said.
He said intelligence gathering should focus on humans and not just on technology.
"We need to re-focus how intelligence is collected in the NIS. It should focus on humans and not solely on technology. If we're over-dependent on technology, we'll not be able to address the various threats we face as a country."
Mr Haji also dismissed arguments that he was being rewarded by President William Ruto for doing his bidding saying: "A lot of thought went into the decision.
He also stood by his decision to withdraw a number of high-profile court cases against current government officials.
"My integrity has not been dented. I stand by the case withdrawals I have made and I make no apologies whatsoever. That is part of being a person of integrity," he said.
"It was during my tenure that the highest-fined case happened. It was also during my tenure that we managed to bring to the fore how best we can deal with corruption. It was during my time that we were able to get rulings that governors step aside once they are charged."
