Son from the East: Will Kindiki succeed Gachagua?

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s impeachment motion sparked high drama and sideshows as MPs began his removal process on Tuesday.

Kithure Kindiki, an international law and human rights lawyer and legal scholar, has grown to be a household name in Kenya.

The son of a Methodist Church of Kenya reverend exudes a humble demeanour. However, his presence and visibility cannot be ignored.

This was escalated recently after 69 MPs from Mt Kenya endorsed him as their preferred link to the President William Ruto-led executive.

For his admirers, Kindiki is meticulous in his approach to tough assignments, and operates like a submarine, only surfacing when the job is done.

It is this discipline that is said to have gone into the delicate assignment of keeping the country safe as assigned by President Ruto in October 2022.

While several of his colleagues were shuffled in the recent Cabinet changes after Gen Z protests, he was retained at his post.

He is the only professor in President Ruto’s Cabinet. When he faced MPs in early August for vetting, Kindiki said he could account for the more than 620 days he had served in the office.

Under his watch, guns are said to have significantly gone silent in the disturbed banditry and terror-prone North.

He is also hailed for easing the pain many Kenyans endured in endless wait to get passports for foreign trips.

Kindiki is also credited for ending runaway crime in Nairobi and now bandits and terrorists are on his crosshairs. 

The Interior CS has been on the frontline to push for better terms of service for village elders.

From the accolades, political watchers say he is best suited to replace Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua should the latter be impeached. Charles Munyui, a political analyst, said Kindiki ticks most of the boxes for DP pick.

“His style is the right opposite of DP Gachagua. He seems to have a way with MPs and can be considered more amiable, something the President is likely to consider,” Munyui said.

“Much as there are other considerations like his reforms at the civil registry and immigration, the decision is likely to boil down to the person who has walked with the President during that tumultuous period and bore the brunt of the same,” the analyst told the Star.

Kindiki boasts of 24 years of experience in law practice. He has faced criticism over police brutality during Gen Z protests.

The CS has also been on the cross over state-backed abductions, claims he has defended saying the government respects rights and freedoms.

Beyond being an advocate of the High Court of Kenya, he is among counsels licensed to practice law at the International Criminal Court in the Hague.

He worked with other lawyers at the ICC where Ruto and former President Uhuru Kenyatta were battling serious crimes charges.

The cases were terminated. Kindiki was Ruto’s chief presidential agent in the heady days of the 2022 general election at the Bomas of Kenya national tallying centre.

In the end, Ruto was declared president after a tight electoral contest that Raila Odinga unsuccessfully challenged at the Supreme Court.

He was also in Ruto’s legal team to defend the poll petition.

His role as the crime-buster indicates how central he is to Ruto’s plan.

Unlike his predecessors, Kindiki has led the Interior ministry with no tough talk, fire and fury. He has exhibited calm and has struck with precision on many issues.

Since his appointment at the end of October last year, he is the only CS who has never taken a trip outside the country. Kindiki was born in Tharaka Nithi county about 52 years ago.

He went to school in the area and later joined Lenana School.

He then proceeded to Moi University where he graduated with a Bachelor of Laws degree. From there, he proceeded to the Kenya School of Law where he obtained a postgraduate diploma in law.

Kindiki then went for further education at the University of Pretoria in South Africa and obtained a Master’s in Law in the year 2000.