The Unexpected Role of Prof. Kithure Kindiki as President Ruto’s Security Minister
If operators of Kenya Defence Forces and Kenya Police VIP aircraft offered frequent-flier rewards, Cabinet Secretary for Interior and National Administration Kithure Kindiki would have a surplus of miles.
Prof. Kindiki has been supervising security operations against bandits and cattle rustlers in Baringo, Elgeyo-Marakwet, West Pokot, and neighboring counties in the northern Rift Valley almost immediately after his appointment to the powerful bench.
The assignment was still consuming the majority of his time when he was summoned on similar junkets to the now-famous Shakahola forest in the coastal Kilifi County of Kenya, where the discovery of a death cult responsible for more than 100 deaths has thrust the country into international spotlight for all the wrong reasons.
The full story of Shakahola was still unfolding when the Cabinet secretary boarded a plane to intervene in border disputes between the countries of Meru and Isiolo.
He declared security zones and deployed the Police Anti-Stock Theft Unit in the region before making a short trip north to neighboring Marsabit and ordering an immediate operation against bandits and cattle rustlers in the vast county.
In between, he has been preoccupied with the series of protests organized by opposition leader Raila Odinga’s coalition, Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya, which have frequently paralyzed the cities of Nairobi and Kisumu.
Kindiki’s appointment by the new government of President William Ruto to head what has historically been one of the most powerful and difficult cases was a baptism by fire.
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His first assignment was to combat the intermittent cattle rustling, banditry, and ethnic conflict that has plagued the northern Rift Valley for generations, insecurity that previous regimes, from Jomo Kenyatta to Uhuru Kenyatta, had been unable to control.
Mild-mannered legal scholar
The diminutive, soft-spoken legal scholar with a somewhat shrill voice was an unlikely security minister compared to a long line of predecessors who radiated the office’s authority.
He replaced another former University of Nairobi professor, Dr. Fred Matiang’i. An academic but brash and tough-talking minister. Who under President Kenyatta, was elevated to a ‘Super CS’ to whom other CSs reported.
Matiang’i’s predecessor was Lt. Gen. (Retired) Joseph Ole Nkaissery. Who matched the profile of previous occupants. Of what was formerly known as the Internal Security and Provincial Administration docket. Ambitious, oversized personalities who went out of their way to exude power, with a healthy dose of arrogance.
President Mwai Kibaki had figures like John Michuki, Chris Murungaru, and George Saitoti.
As did Jomo Kenyatta, President Daniel Arap Moi had GG Kariuki or ran the docket himself while supervising a figurehead minister.
Under the Ministry of Home Affairs during the Kenyatta I administration. The Vice-President was responsible for security, beginning with Oginga Odinga and then Moi.
Kindiki became the first security minister in Kenya to wear military-style camouflage fatigues regularly. When visiting trouble spots, perhaps to compensate for his diminutive stature and mild demeanor.
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Considering how far he had come with Ruto and the need to appease him. After losing out to then-Mathira MP Rigathi Gachagua for the running-mate position ahead of the 2022 presidential election. One of the most prestigious and influential Cabinet seats may have been a fitting reward. For the Tharaka-Nithi senator who had served for only one term.
Ruto tasked Kindiki with eradicating the banditry menace in the North Rift, which may have seemed like an impossible task.
The traditional competition for resources between rival communities in the region had bred a culture of ethnic militia, cattle rustling, banditry, and unrestricted access to illegal firearms.
It had defied colonial administration as well as the harsh law-and-order regimes of Jomo Kenyatta and Moi and extended beyond Kenyan borders into Ethiopia, South Sudan, and Uganda.
Kindiki’s first order of business was to enlist the Kenya Defense Forces in the campaign, which required special authorization because the military does not typically intervene in matters of internal security.
Kenyan Army attack helicopters
Moi authorized the use of Kenyan Army helicopter gunships to strafe suspected bandit-hiding villages in West Pokot during the mid-1980s.
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The indiscriminate bombing resulted in a large number of civilian deaths, which remains an unresolved human rights issue in the region to this day.
The Moi regime adopted as its modus operandi the use of collective punishment by security forces against villages where bandits originated.
Additionally, there were widespread arrests of local leaders, particularly in West Pokot, who were suspected of sponsoring attacks on neighboring communities.
Some notable leaders, such as Francis Lotodo, were either detained without trial or charged with promoting warlike activities, a capital offense comparable to treason. Nevertheless, there was no respite despite the intense action.
Baringo, Elgeyo-Marakwet, West Pokot, Turkana, Samburu, and Laikipia counties continue to experience insecurity.
Despite their superior firepower, heavy machine guns, helicopters, and armored vehicles, police have frequently been outgunned and outmanned by youths operating on familiar terrain.
This was the situation in which Kindiki dispatched the military, and after persistent inquiries from local leaders and others as to whether the new mission was bearing fruit, the CS confidently declared its success at the end of last month.
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On April 26, Kindiki informed the Senate that bandits’ hiding places had been uncovered.
In response to a question from Samburu Senator Steve Lelegwe. He stated that all bandit hideouts, including caves, gorges, and ravines, had been cleared and taken control of by the security forces.
The CS stated that the recent attacks amid the security operation were carried out by bandits. Who mingled with the general populace after the government issued a 24-hour notice for everyone to vacate the hideouts.
Three days later, Kindiki revisited the operation zone, where he reaffirmed that the mission to rid the North Rift region of banditry had been a resounding success.
Operation Maliza Uhalifu
Speaking at the Joint National Police Service and Kenya Defense Forces ‘Operation Maliza Uhalifu Command Centre in Chemolingot, Baringo. He vowed that the government would do whatever it takes to end the menace that has plagued the region for decades. He also ordered that the aforementioned areas remain under the command of the security operation. Effectively placing them under martial law.
The mission commander, Deputy Inspector-General of Police Noor Gabow, and other senior officers accompanied him.
Given that Kindiki’s statements left several unanswered questions, it is possible that the mission’s success announcement was premature.
While announcing the ‘liberation’ of the bandits’ gorges, caves, and other hideouts. He remained silent on the number of bandits captured or killed. Leaving open the possibility that a significant number had simply fled the advancing security forces. Hidden their weapons, and blended into the civilian population.
As was typical during the Moi era, they would be prepared to strike again as soon as the heat subsides.
Investigations revealed that the financiers and commanders of the banditry and cattle rustling were influential political and community leaders who would soon be charged in court.
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He stated that one of the most senior bandit commanders was currently in police custody and assisting with investigations.
“We will prevail in this conflict. Either Kenya or the bandits must exist. It is either law enforcement or criminals. Kenya will not give way. The law will not budge. Bandits and criminals must yield the right of way. We will defeat bandits through security operations based on intelligence.”
However, there has been no information regarding the prosecution of bandits and their leaders.
The GossipA2Z reached out to Kindiki for his thoughts on some of these questions and omissions. But he had not responded by the time the publication went to press.
Shakahola, where the cult led by Pastor Paul Mackenzie of Good News International. Convinced or forced dozens of followers to fast to death so they could ascend to heaven. Has been Kindiki’s other major headache.
When the first few graves were discovered in the expansive piece of land and adjoining forest. The CS was criticized for being slow to respond, but once on the scene, he declared it a massacre.
As the gravity of what had transpired became clearer. He proposed charging the preacher with terrorism, genocide, or crimes against humanity.
Multiple murder charges
More than 140 bodies have been exhumed so far. And post-mortems have revealed that some of the victims were strangled or suffocated, as opposed to dying of starvation. Therefore, multiple murder charges are possible.
While Mackenzie is not a well-known figure in the Kenyan evangelistic movement. The arrest of Pastor Ezekiel Odero. Who runs a megachurch in an imposing compound that could pass for a small town in the same area. Was a dramatic development in the investigations.
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The police believe there is a connection. Between the bodies being exhumed on Mackenzie’s property and the activities at Ezekiel’s New Life Centre. Where televised faith healing sessions drew desperate congregants seeking miracle cures from all over the world.
It is rumored that Ezekiel enjoys cordial relationships with politicians, government officials, and security chiefs in Kilifi County and the surrounding coastal area.
He is a member of the network of evangelical preachers who have gained national prominence through their televised crusades and “healing” sessions, and who, under the Ruto administration, are displacing the mainstream Catholic and Protestant churches in State House access.
Rachel Ruto, the First Lady of Kenya, openly supports the evangelical movement and is a driving force behind the prayer sessions organized by State House, which are frequently led by some of the more controversial faith-healing preachers.
Dorcas, the wife of Gachagua, is also an evangelical preacher. And she quickly pleaded that the entire church not be demonized due to the activities discovered at Shakahola.
Indeed, it appears that the evangelical movement is moving swiftly. Not only to distance itself from Mackenzie but also to promote a new narrative that the Church is under attack.
Kindiki would likely face formidable opposition if he attempted to bring the Church under control.
His promise to ensure that Mackenzie spends the rest of his life behind bars. Will be moderated by the fact that courts convict based on the evidence presented. And the testimony of witnesses, not public statements or citizen outrage.
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Already, the State has suffered a setback after the Mombasa High Courts ordered Inspector-General of Police Japhet Koome to reopen Ezekiel’s church. Which was ordered closed after he was linked to the Shakahola murders.
Kindiki faces a further obstacle in the Azimio protests. Where he frequently appears torn between his liberal perspective and a group of government hardliners led by Gachagua.
At the height of the protests. It appeared that the minister of the interior had been sidelined as Koome and Nairobi Police Chief Adamson Bungei took orders from politicians.
The controversial raid on the Northlands Ranch owned by the family of former President Kenyatta. Which was planned by Mt Kenya politicians with the collusion of the national police command. While the CS was kept in the dark, was an embarrassing incident.
The Unexpected Role of Prof. Kithure Kindiki as President Ruto’s Security Minister
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