The Unwavering Spymaster Kameru: Uhuru’s Last Man Standing in Ruto’s Inner Circle
When President William Ruto unveiled his Cabinet on September 27, 2022, he also disclosed that Inspector-General of Police Hillary Mutyambai had requested to serve the remainder of his four-year term on leave due to deteriorating health.
In the same address, President Ruto announced that former National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi would replace former judge Kihara Kariuki as Kenya’s eighth Attorney-General since independence.
Aden Duale has replaced Eugene Wamalwa as the Defense CS.
Prof. Kithure Kindiki succeeded Dr. Fred Matayang’i as Minister of the Interior, while Prof. Alfred Mutua replaced Raychelle Omamo as Minister of Foreign Affairs.
In a matter of months, the nine-member National Security Council (NSC) of Kenya, the country’s highest decision-making body, had changed its appearance.
General Robert Kibochi’s departure from the position of Chief of the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) has left only one man in charge of the country’s most vital security agency: National Intelligence Service (NIS) Director-General Philip Wachira Kameru.
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Since 2014, when President Uhuru Kenyatta appointed him to succeed Michael Gichangi, Maj. Gen. Kameru has been Kenya’s highest-ranking spy.
The NSC is the beating heart of Kenya’s safety, as it formulates domestic, foreign, and military security policies.
Whenever something or someone threatens to create anarchy in the country, the National Security Council devises a countermeasure.
NSC responses are typically based on intelligence reports, making the NIS one of the institution’s most vital components.
The NSC oversees Kenya’s civilian and military security agencies.
Under the NSC Act, the President heads the organization.
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Other members include the Vice President, the Chief of the KDF, the Attorney General, the Police Inspector General, the Director-General of the NIS, and the Cabinet Secretaries in charge of Defense, Foreign Affairs, and Internal Security.
The President presides over NSC meetings.
President Ruto and Mr. Kameru are familiar acquaintances.
Dr. Ruto, as Vice President, received intelligence briefings and reports for years from the chief spy.
Nonetheless, in the run-up to the 2022 General Election, Dr. Ruto implied that Maj. Gen. Kameru was a part of the so-called “system” supporting the Azimio presidential candidate, in response to former Interior CS Karanja Kibicho’s claims that the NIS had predicted Raila Odinga’s victory based on intelligence gathering.
In 2022, the President’s party wrote to Mr. Kameru to determine whether Dr. Kibicho’s claims were true.
In the letter, President Ruto’s UDA asked, “Did the Director-General authorize or permit the release of NIS reports or polling information for subsequent use by the said PS to advance the interests and cause of the Azimio Party and to undermine Kenyans’ confidence in the fairness of the presidential election process?”
Just hours after the Supreme Court rejected Azimio la Umoja’s petition challenging the presidential election, social media was rife with reports that Mr. Kameru had resigned.
However, it was later determined to be false.
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Others have asserted that influential members of the intelligence community may have secretly supported the UDA campaign.
Mr. Kameru was sworn in on September 11, 2014, less than one month after Michael Gichangi resigned from his position as NIS director.
The NIS director-general serves a five-year term and is eligible for reappointment for a second five-year term.
According to the requirements of the Constitution of 2010, he is the first intelligence chief ever to undergo a parliamentary review before his appointment.
Ali Rasso Dido, a member of parliament from Saku, lauded the man who rose from the rank of second lieutenant to major general, stating that it was no easy feat. He said this during the deliberation of the nomination by the president.
“We served in the KDF together. General Kameru is a strong leader, and I believe he will also be a strong leader in the NIS. He’s an attentive listener. I believe that what we politicians want is for the Executive to hear our and the people’s voices. Mr. Dido stated that General Kameru is a fair, respectable, and professional officer who has served this country in a colorful career.
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In addition, the proceedings revealed that former Interior Minister Joseph Nkaissery was one of Mr. Kameru’s instructors when he first joined the disciplined forces.
Mr. Gichangi cited personal reasons for his resignation, but he left under a cloud of security lapses that allowed Al-Qaeda extremists to launch successive attacks against the country.
The Westgate attack in September 2013 was the most devastating, resulting in at least 71 deaths and nearly 200 injuries.
Terrorists killed at least 50 people in another attack in Mpeketoni, Lamu County, putting pressure on President Kenyatta to take action.
The President charged Mr. Kameru with putting an end to these attacks on Kenya.
Mr. Kameru’s top priority upon assuming office was to stop terrorist attacks, which were largely a response by al-Qaeda and al-Shabaab to Kenya’s military presence in Somalia.
Under Operation Linda Nchi, Kenyan troops arrived in Somalia in 2011 to help eliminate al-Shabaab’s threat.
After Operation Linda Nchi ended in 2012, numerous Kenyan soldiers joined the Africa Union Mission to Somalia (Amisom).
Mr. Kameru was named head of the Directorate of Military Intelligence for Operation Linda Nchi when Kenyan troops landed in Somalia.
Upper hand
The relatively smooth penetration of Kenya into Somalia was largely attributed to the intelligence gathered by Mr. Kameru’s unit, which gave him an advantage when the NIS position became vacant.
In addition to his impressive military credentials, Mr. Kameru holds three master’s degrees in security intelligence.
According to parliamentary proceedings, there was no opposition to Mr. Kameru’s appointment as head of the NIS caseload.
Since it took President Kenyatta less than two weeks to appoint Mr. Kameru, the Jubilee government’s decision appeared to be a no-brainer.
Just seven months after taking office, al-Shabaab-affiliated insurgents attacked Garissa University and killed 148 people.
Later, then-Interior Minister Joseph Nkaissery admitted that security agencies disregarded information that could have prevented the attack.
Despite the failure of the entire security sector, Mr. Kameru appeared to be reforming the NIS, as the institution had successfully gathered information pertinent to national security.
In 2019, Mr. Kameru’s five-year term was about to expire when rumors began to circulate that a replacement was in the works.
However, President Kenyatta instead extended his term by five years, until 2024.
The Unwavering Spymaster Kameru: Uhuru’s Last Man Standing in Ruto’s Inner Circle
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