Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s impeachment motion has triggered intense debate as MPs initiated the process for his removal on Tuesday.
Kithure Kindiki, an international law and human rights lawyer as well as a respected legal scholar has become a prominent figure in Kenya especially when it comes to succeeding Gachagua. Kindiki is a son of a Methodist Church of Kenya reverend. He is known for his humble demeanor, yet his influence and presence are undeniable.
This prominence was further amplified recently when 69 MPs from the Mt. Kenya region endorsed him as their preferred liaison to President William Ruto’s administration.
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For his admirers, Kithure Kindiki is known for his meticulous approach to challenging tasks, often operating like a submarine—emerging only once the job is successfully completed.
This discipline is believed to have been crucial in handling the delicate responsibility of ensuring the country’s security, a role entrusted to him by President Ruto in October 2022. While several of his colleagues were reshuffled in the recent Cabinet changes following Gen Z protests, Kindiki was retained in his position.
Kithure Kindiki, the only professor in President Ruto’s Cabinet, impressed MPs during his vetting in early August, confidently accounting for his over 620 days in office. Under his leadership, security has improved significantly, with guns largely silenced in the banditry- and terror-prone North.
Kindiki has also earned praise for reducing the long delays many Kenyans faced in acquiring passports for international travel, and for his efforts to combat rising crime in Nairobi. Now, bandits and terrorists are squarely in his sights. As Interior CS, he has been a strong advocate for improved terms of service for village elders.
With such accomplishments, political analysts believe Kindiki is well-positioned to succeed Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua should he be impeached. Charles Munyui, a political analyst, notes that Kindiki checks many of the boxes for the role of Deputy President.
“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.
How Is Kindiki's Experience?
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.
The current interior CS 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, Kithure Kindiki remains the only Cabinet Secretary who has not taken an international trip. Born about 52 years ago in Tharaka Nithi County, Kindiki received his early education locally before attending Lenana School.
He then enrolled at Moi University, where he earned a Bachelor of Laws degree, followed by a postgraduate diploma from the Kenya School of Law. In 2000, Kindiki pursued further studies at the University of Pretoria in South Africa, obtaining a Master’s in Law.
