I have never hidden my appreciation for Deputy President Kithure Kindiki’s work ethic. I tick all the boxes.

Since joining politics in 2013 as the senator for Tharaka-Nithi, the youthful law professor has conducted himself with utmost civility and handled his responsibilities with a measured element of commitment, decorum, maturity and humility. He has not disappointed.

It did not surprise me that President William Ruto identified the less controversial and non-garrulous Kindiki as his principal assistant after he fell out with his now impeached Deputy President Geoffrey Rigathi Gachagua last year .
Kindiki aptly fits the bill. And he has not disappointed so far.

When Ruto formed his Government after the August 2022 General-Election, he appointed Kindiki as the the Minister for Internal Security, whose official title is Cabinet Secretary for Interior and National Government Administration.

It is at this docket that Kindiki proved his mettle. Logical, inclusive and pragmatic, Kindiki emerged as a results-driven consensus builder and team player.

Whether scientific or not, all the opinion polls conducted since the composition of Ruto’s first Cabinet identified him as the best performing minister from the 22-member pack.

Justifiably so. His work was there for all to too see. It spoke for itself.

Major urban areas

On Kindiki’s watch, the guns went almost silent in the bandit-prone North Rift and northern Kenya regions, terror attacks in the north-eastern region reduced drastically and crimes in major urban areas reduced.

Outside the media glare, the then Interior Minister Kindiki applied a hands-on-deck approach in his mandate. He spent days and nights in caves and forests in different parts of the country engaging the perpetrators, either through diplomacy or direct combat

To a large extent, he succeeded. The results of his efforts were realised and given a nod by one and all.

Within only two years, Kindiki achieved far more than what his predecessors were not able for decades.

In October last year, Kindiki was elevated to the position of Deputy President, with the portfolio of Interior Minister having been plucked from his responsibilities.

As Deputy President, Kindiki has been handed other demanding national duties which have kept him fully occupied since earning the promotion. He has executed that mandate respectfully, loyally and without fail. However, for the five months that Kindiki has been Deputy President, the Ministry of Interior has degenerated into a total mess.

All of a sudden, violence has erupted among the communities living on the border of Kisii and Narok counties

Raiders have killed and abducted Kenyans in the Todonyang area in north-western Kenya, Chiefs have been abducted in north-eastern Kenya.

Tension is building on the northern coast of Kenya and the volatile Kerio Valley where guns had gone silent by the time Kindiki exited the Security docket.

The underlying factor is that there is a huge crevice at the ministry since Prof. Kithure Kindiki left and which his successor is unable, or is unwilling, to fill.

Upon Kindiki’s ascendance to the Deputy President perch, the Head of State appointed former Transport minister Onesmus Kipchumba Murkomen to replace him at Interior.

Kipchumba’s arrival at Harambee House has been greeted with the rise and re-emergence of criminal activities in the country, some of which I have highlighted above.

Murkomen is a known long-time friend and trusted courtier of President William Ruto. It is also a known fact that President Ruto has a knack for standing by his friends at all times, whatever the case.

That is why though Murkomen’s conduct and performance at the Ministry of Transport was one of the key drivers of the Gen-Z uprising of last year that forced the President to dissolve and reconstitute his Cabinet, Ruto not only re-appointed Murkomen but he also later promoted him to succeeded Kindiki at the Interior ministry.

Over two decades baxk, when announcing then Local Government Minister Uhuru Kenyatta as his preferred successor to then Vice-president Prof. George Saitoti, the late President Daniel arap Moi stated: “kuna tofauti ya urafiki na majukumu ya kitaifa (there is a difference between friendship and national responsibilities).

It is probably time for President Ruto to dissect and digest Moi’s caution. Thus, whereas Murkomen is his friend, it does not necessarily apply that he should place on his shoulders any available responsibilities.

Though qualified, from many angles, Murkomen is the most unsuitable person to head Kenya’s security docket at this point in time of the history of our nation.

Presidential candidate

To begin with, while his colleagues worked Murkomen spent the better part of 2023 marketing himself at public functions in the Rift Valley as Rigathi Gachagua’s potential presidential candidate running -mate in 2032.

What is more, his tenure at the ministry of Transport left more than can be desired. By the time he left, the ministry was synonymous with scandal and infamy.

Lest we forget, Murkomen hails from a region that has been rocked by banditry for decades and in which his own community is one of the antagonists.

It is doubtful that Murkomen can afford to be a neutral arbiter in the intermittent violence in North Rift region.

Last year, Kenyans were up in arms against Murkomen’s gleeful display of avarice. He demonstrated that he was in pursuit of power and grandeur. His opulent lifestyle was one of the reasons that drove the Gen-Zs to the streets.

Murkomen could be Ruto’s friend and henchman. That does not equip him with the credentials to supervise the Ministry of Interior.

That ministry requires a composed mind and body. A listener. A diplomat. A cool head . A solution-seeker. A nationalist. A visionary. A team player.

Kindiki fits all these requirements. He has demonstrated them to every Jack and Jill. He is a tried and tested performer. Murokomen is the opposite

Ruto does not need to fire Murkomen. He can re-assign him other national duties, except as Minister for Internal Security or Roads and Transport.

For the sake of continuity and positive results, it would make a lot of sense for the President to hand back the Security docket to the trusted and committed hand of Kindiki – in addition to the other assignments he already has as Deputy President – and get Murkomen something else to do.

Mr. President, this country needs to move forward in very many spheres. Security is one of the key areas that we need to move forward. Murkomen cannot take us forward.

The author is a Revise Editor with the People Daily newspaper. Email: kwayeram@yahoo.co.uk