Interior CS Kithure Kindiki.
Prof Abraham Kithure Kindiki is the man of the moment following parliamentary approval of his nomination as Deputy President-elect after President William Ruto picked him on Friday, October 18.
The High Court has, however, stopped the process of replacing Mr Rigathi Gachagua as Deputy President until the case is heard on October 24.
Mild-mannered but firm, the 52-year-old Interior Cabinet Secretary boasts of a successful career spanning more than 27 years in the private and public service.
Born in Irunduni village, Tharaka Nithi County, Prof Kindiki has previously said how he had to overcome challenges in the remote area to make it as an academic and politician. His life and career have from a formative stage been shaped by his parents — Rev (rtd) Daniel Kindiki and Mrs Hannah Kindiki. The father of three is married to Dr Joyce Kindiki.
The Kindikis have often been referred to as the family of professors with at least five siblings holding the academic title. His brother, Prof Isaiah Kindiki, who has previously held different political views from his brother, once told the Nation that theirs is a “democratic family”.
He also talked of their humble beginnings after their father rose from abject poverty to a respected elder.
“My father became a breadwinner at the age of six when my grandfather died. As a teenager, he joined the Methodist missionaries, becoming one of the first African converts in the region. Those days the difference between Church and school was narrow. We didn’t know anything else out of school. Our mother, Hannah, is also very prayerful”
In a political landscape where “small” communities are often sidelined in voting bloc arithmetics, Prof Kindiki has now raised the profile of his Tharaka-Nthi County in his quest to be Kenya’s second-in-command as court battles continue.
Rough patch
But it has not always been a smooth ride for the Deputy President-elect. For example, he paid the price for his close association with Dr Ruto, who was then a deputy president at odds with President Uhuru Kenyatta, which saw his senator colleagues pass a vote of no confidence on him as Deputy Speaker in 2020.
Despite being a first-time legislator in 2013, he clinched the Majority leader’s seat in the senate and later served as the Deputy Speaker for three years before he was de-whipped in 2020.
His chief accuser, then-Majority Whip Irungu Kang’ata, was a former student who sponsored the motion to bundle him out of office for skipping a parliamentary Group (PG) meeting convened by the party leader, Mr Kenyatta, at State House.
Kang’ata told the House the action was important to ensure President Uhuru Kenyatta achieves his agenda and vision.
Mr Kindiki’s defence was that he had changed phone numbers from one service provider to another and did not receive the invitation message, fell on deaf ears as he was accused of snubbing the president’s meeting at the height of the fallout between Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto, in the ‘Handshake’ era that had brought opposition leader Raila Odinga into the fold.
Prof Kindiki Kithure.
Speaker after Speaker hyped praises on the Professor but told him bluntly that he was on the wrong side of history to associate with Dr Ruto.
Former Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen, who had also been purged as Majority leader alongside side former Nakuru Senator Susan Kihika (now Governor), also voiced their concerns about the government side’s action.
Also Read: Kindiki allies: Our problem with Gachagua
But Prof Kindiki, while thanking his colleagues for the time he worked with them, sounded a warning.
“Today, I stand here paraded before the whole Nation accused of misdeeds whose particulars have never been brought to my attention until now, despite me consistently asking for them.
"There can be only two reasons for this travesty of procedural justice, namely, that these trumped-up charges are woefully baseless and that my case is a fait accompli- I must be removed by all means whatsoever, even by unconstitutional means,” he stated then.
He added that “it took darkness for me to see the galaxy of stars strewn all over this nation” that abhors injustice.
“This has given me great hope that our nation shall rise again. There is hope for Kenya,” he said.
He concluded, “Those who think that I have made a mistake must understand that freedom includes the freedom to make mistakes. Today, Mr speaker, every Senator here present must decide for himself or herself if they will live in fear or live in freedom.”
Stint at Senate
Prof Kindiki spearheaded the legislative agenda of the Majority Party in the Senate navigating critical moments that made the Senate stand out, such as the consideration of the controversial Security (amendments) Law in 2014, the Elections (Amendment) Law and the Public Audit Law.
As Deputy Speaker, he delivered grounded rulings that set precedence in the senate and strictly enforcing rules of procedure and parliamentary processes.
His tentacles go beyond the legislative agenda, as he is also remembered as the first legislator who was on record, committing to the 20 per cent salary cut in line with then president Kenyatta and DP Ruto’s undertaking to state officers in a bid to manage the ballooning wage Bill, in their first term in office.
In an unprecedented move, he wrote to the clerk Jeremiah Nyegenye, committing to the president’s directive.
'Unifier'
His choice as Deputy President-elect to the second most powerful office is a culmination of the fallout between Dr Ruto and Mr Gachagua.
Prof Kindiki is credited with the drafting of the much publicised Kenya Kwanza Alliance coalition agreement bringing together 14 political parties in 2022.
Impeached Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, President William Ruto and Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki at the Kenya School of Government in Lower Kabete during a meeting with national government administrators.
He was also instrumental in the negotiations and legal drafting of the coalition between the now defunct National Alliance (TNA) of Kenyatta and the defunct United Republican Party (URP) of Ruto in 2012, resulting in the Jubilee coalition government.
For over 24 years, he has accomplished a standing in the legal field, representing clients in the national and international courts and tribunals, notably, the legal counsel of President Ruto at the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague, where he was facing crimes against humanity charges.
His naming as the man to replace Mr Gachagua comes not as a surprise, but as a result of his loyalty and closeness to President Ruto, which has finally paid off after he was edged out at the last minute by Mr Gachagua as the running mate ahead of the 2022 presidential polls.
Despite a lengthy selection process that favoured Prof Kindiki, Mr Gachagua ultimately emerged as Ruto’s choice and now coring the error.
This saw Prof Kindiki publicly state that he would take a break from elective politics, but he made an immediate about-turn. He took up the task as the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) chief agent and would later land the powerful Interior ministry docket.
His tenure has been marked by success and controversy with highlights including the fight against bandits in northwestern Kenya and police handling of Gen Z protests.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki.
Prof Kindiki attended Irunduni Primary School and then Lenana School before graduating with a law degree from the University of Nairobi.
Academic history
His life journey begins at Irunduni Primary school between 1980 and 1987 and later joined Lenana school, thereafter proceeding to graduate with a Bachelor of Law at Moi University. He pursued his Masters in the same field from the University of Pretoria, South Africa and earned his Phd in international law from the same university.
He was a lecturer of law at Moi University between 2002 and 2003 and later at the University of Nairobi (UoN) from 20023 to 2011.
At UoN, he also served as the Head of the Department of Public Law and Associate dean of the School of Law between 2007 and 2010.
During his academic career, he was on various occasions a visiting lecturer at the University of Budapest, Hungary, the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil and his former university in South Africa.
Prof Kindiki has published over 30 books and academic articles in peer-reviewed journals.
Prof Kindiki’s contribution to the general philosophy of international law has been significant. As a PhD Student at the University of Pretoria, Prof Kindiki had argued for reforms at the UN Security Council as well as a change in the way humanitarian interventions were to be done to warzones.
He wrote his thesis at a time the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) was transitioning to the African Union. It was titled: Humanitarian Intervention in Africa: The Role of Intergovernmental Organisations. The OAU was a Pan-African bloc that strictly campaigned for independence and unity of African states but never attempted to intervene in situations where state authorities themselves were massacring their people as had been witnessed in several countries during its time.
In 2008 after the disputed presidential polls pitting President Mwai Kibaki and Opposition leader Raila Odinga, the National and Reconciliation Dialogue team, saw him appointed as the secretary for National cohesion, but he resigned to resume his first love: his teaching career.
Prof Kindiki has been serving in the Interior docket for two years and was reappointed this year after the Cabinet was dissolved following the youth protests.
At the start of Mr Gachagua’s impeachment, there was talk of Prof Kindiki being the next in line to replace him.
Prof Kindiki had earlier received endorsement from at least a majority of elected leaders from the larger Mt Kenya region.
Additional reporting by Aggrey Mutambo
