Kithure Kindiki Profile: Picked As CS Twice & Fighting For Ruto At ICC

On Friday, October 18, Kindiki replaced Rigathi Gachagua who was impeached by the Senate hours prior

Kithure Kindiki Profile: Picked As CS Twice & Fighting For Ruto At ICC
Graphic of Prof. Kithure Kindiki at State House, Nairobi. /PCS.VIRAL TEA KE

Abraham Kithure Kindiki has been one of President William Ruto's favourite pointmen and coupled with his stellar work, career profile and academic achievements, it is no surprise that the Head of State chose him as Deputy President of the Republic of Kenya.

On Friday, October 18, Kindiki replaced Rigathi Gachagua who was impeached by the Senate hours prior, a moment that will be etched in Kenya's history given that he is the first sitting Deputy President to be impeached by both Houses of Parliament, including the National Assembly.

He arguably ranks amongst some of the respected lawyers in the country and is a high-ranking politician, having served as Deputy Speaker of the Senate. So who is he?

Kithure Kindiki Profile

Before serving as Cabinet Secretary for Interior and National Administration, Kindiki had spent just over 10 years in active politics, serving as Tharaka-Nithi senator for two consecutive terms from 2013 to 2022. He was born 52 years ago in Irunduni village, Tharaka Nithi County.

During the period at the Senate, he also served as the Senate Majority Leader during the first term, and Deputy Speaker in the second term, between August 2017 to 2020.

Portrait of Kithure Kindiki. /THE STAR

Before then, the soft-spoken advocate of the High Court and the International Criminal Court (ICC) ran his private practice and consulted for local and international organisations including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) among others.

He is a member of the Academic Council on the United Nations System (ACUNS), the International Association on the Study of Forced Migration (IASFM), the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) and the International Commission of Jurists, Kenya Chapter (ICJ-K).

In his early career, Prof Kindiki was a lecturer at Moi University. He also served as a senior lecturer and the head of the Department of Public Law at the University of Nairobi where he rose to become an Associate Dean at the School of Law.

Prof Kindiki holds a master's degree in International Human Rights Law & Democracy and a PhD in International Law, both from the University of Pretoria, South Africa. He also obtained a Bachelor's degree in Law (LLB) from Moi University and a Diploma in Legal Studies from the Kenya School of Law. Before that, Kindiki attended Irunduni Primary School, then Lenana School.

Kindiki entered public service in 2008 when he was appointed Secretary for the National Cohesion and Reconciliation outfit by the late President Mwai Kibaki. He resigned after three months, citing a lack of political will to resettle victims of the 2007 post-election violence.

However, he gained national prominence when Ruto appointed him to his legal team during the ICC trial for crimes against humanity. Leveraging this visibility, Kindiki transitioned to politics, successfully contesting the Senate seat for Tharaka Nithi in 2013 under the TNA party.

He was elected on his first attempt and served two terms, rising to the position of Deputy Speaker during his second term. However, as tensions grew between President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President Ruto, Kindiki faced challenges in the Senate and was eventually impeached.

Early Sniff At DP, Interior Job & Opinion Polls

In the run-up to the 2022 general elections, Kindiki was highly considered to be President Ruto's running mate and was said to have won in both the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) Electoral College and opinion polls conducted to pick Ruto's running mate. The chance was however handed to Gachagua.

It is also worth noting that the father of three led a team of lawyers at the Supreme Court of Kenya when a petition was filed challenging the 2022 presidential election results, following Ruto's election as president against former Prime Minister, Raila Odinga.

In the two years, and two times he has been Interior and National Administration CS, including in the broad-based Cabinet, Kindiki has led and overseen the achievement of various milestones and reforms in the ministry, including the Police Equipment Modernization, finalization of a strategic framework to commence implementation of Police Reforms, and abolishment of the previous vetting processes for issuance of National Identity cards.

Kindiki has also overseen the recognition of minority groups and stateless communities by ensuring they receive Kenyan citizenship, operationalization the Public Benefit Organizations Act, enhancing the fight against banditry and general insecurity around the country, as well as developing a legislative proposal to amend the National Government Coordination Act of 2013 to officially recognize village elders in each unit.

He has also spearheaded the enrolment of 13,120 inmates into formal education programs, among others. His success as CS has seen him dominate opinion polls of Cabinet Secretaries and recent opinion polls placed him as a frontrunner for the Deputy President post.

Expected replacements of DP Rigathi Gachagua as per the latest TIFA poll on October 7, 2024. /VIRAL TEA KE

On Friday morning President Ruto picked Prof Kindiki as his nominee for the position, setting the stage for the National Assembly to make a vote. The law states that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) shall then declare the candidate nominated by the person who is elected as the President to be elected as the deputy president.

The name shall then be tabled in Parliament and once approved by a majority of the members, the DP shall be sworn in before the Chief Justice and in public.