Kenyan President William Ruto informed Parliament on Thursday, October 17, that he has nominated Interior Minister Kisule Kindiki as Vice President to replace Ligati Gachagua, who was removed from office by impeachment.
Born on July 16, 1972 in Irunduni village, Tharaka constituency, Professor Kitule Kindiki is now one step away from becoming deputy commander and only a few steps away from becoming president.
Professor Kindiki, who is an advocate at the High Court of Kenya and has 21 years of experience representing clients in national and international courts, is set to be second time lucky to win the position he missed out on in 2022.
Professor Kindiki is the only Cabinet Secretary to maintain a record of having been appointed since September 2022, even after the Cabinet was dissolved and reconstituted this year.
Professor Kindiki was instrumental in negotiating and drafting legislation for the 2012 coalition between the National Alliance (TNA) and the United Republican Party, and for the Kenya Kwanzaa Alliance coalition that will bring together 14 political parties in 2022.
A recently released InfoTrack poll shows Professor Kindiki leading with 20% as a candidate to succeed Gachagua if he is impeached, with 5% supporting Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru.
The Home Secretary is considered non-adversarial and is someone who is acceptable across political divides. His long-standing relationship with President Ruto may also be an advantage, having served as his lawyer while he was being indicted at the International Criminal Court.
Professor Kindiki was reportedly supported by MPs as Ruto’s running mate in the 2022 elections before Gachagua was elected, and after it became clear that he would be replaced as vice president He was considered a strong candidate.
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Dr Ruto, who visited Katwana in Tharaka Niti District in June 2022, explained in his own words his interest in bringing Prof Kindiki to the national political scene.
“When I came to Katwana and humbly asked you to provide me with this leader, Abraham Kitule Kindiki, he was currently in a position above that of a senator or Tharaka Niti district governor, so he I asked you to donate to help me participate in national politics.”
“That day, I said he was more than a governor, but some people were dissatisfied and did not heed my call,” Dr. Ruto added.
He told residents of Tharaka Niti, Professor Kindiki’s backyard, that the Home Ministry had simply “missed the opportunity to become vice president by the slimmest of margins”.
His nomination as vice president to replace Gachagua therefore comes as no surprise to many in the UDA and the Kenyan Kwanzaa Alliance.
Main timeline
Born on July 16, 1972 in Taraka Constituency, Irunduni Village, 52 years old, Advocate at the High Court of Kenya Attended Irunduni Primary School from 1980 to 1987, attended Lenana School from 1988 to 1991 Graduated from Moi University in 1998 with a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) and Master of Laws (LL.M) from the University of Pretoria in 2000, PhD in International Law from the University of Pretoria in 2002, and Moi University from 2000 to 2003. He was a lecturer in law at the University of Nairobi from 2003 to 2011. He served as the Faculty of Public Law from 2005 to 2007 and as Associate Dean of the Faculty of Law from 2007 to 2010. Throughout his studies, he was a guest lecturer on various occasions at the University of Budapest in Hungary, the University of São Paulo (Brazil), and the University of São Paulo. The University of Pretoria in South Africa publishes over 30 books and peer-reviewed journals. From 2012 to 2015, he represented William Ruto at the International Criminal Court. In March 2013, he was elected to the Tharaka Niti Senate. From 2013 to 2017, he served as the first Senate Majority Leader for five years. In 2017, he was re-elected to the Tharaka Niti Senate and served as Deputy Senate President for three years. He was appointed as Secretary of the Interior Cabinet in 2022.
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