• Kindiki, who was part of the 22 Cabinet nominees fronted by President William Ruto, told MPs he was confident he’d deliver in the Interior docket.
• He returned to the university and left to join politics ahead of the 2013 general election where he contested and won the Tharaka Nithi Senate seat.
Image: EZEKIEL AMING'A
Details of Interior Cabinet Secretary nominee Kithure Kindiki’s illustrious career in politics and academia were laid bare during his vetting for the post by Parliament on Tuesday.
Kindiki, who was part of the 22 Cabinet nominees fronted by President William Ruto, told MPs he was confident he’d deliver in the Interior docket.
The assurance followed concerns by a section of the Appointments Committee of the National Assembly of their ‘not so good’ experiences with members of the academia who have held the post.
Kindiki was born in Tharaka 50 years ago, went to school in Tharaka and later joined Lenana School before proceeding to Moi University where he graduated with a Bachelor of Law degree.
From there, he proceeded to the Kenya School of Law where he obtained a postgraduate diploma.
Kindiki then went for further education at the University of Pretoria in South Africa and obtained a Masters in Law in 2000.
In 2002, the nominee obtained a PhD in International Law from the same institution and has been a lecturer of law at many universities.
“I have been a lecturer of law at Moi University for three years and the University of Nairobi for 10 years,” he told MPs.
While in class, Kindiki revealed that he rose the ranks from graduate assistant to tutorial fellow, senior lecturer, and associate professor.
“In the same period, I held administrative portfolios at the university, from the head of the Public Law department between 2005 and 2007. Thereafter, I became an associate dean in the faculty of law,” he said.
Kindiki’s only time away from the class was when former President Mwai Kibaki (deceased) appointed him as secretary for National Cohesion.
“I left the civil service as I was not comfortable with the position, largely because of the political situation around which I was appointed and the agenda I was to deal with.”
He returned to the university and left to join politics ahead of the 2013 general election where he contested and won the Tharaka Nithi Senate seat.
Kindiki boasts of 22 years of experience in law practice, adding that beyond being an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya, he is listed among counsels licensed to practice law at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
Between 2013 and 2017, Kindiki was voted by Jubilee as Majority leader of the Senate and later Deputy Senate Speaker in the 12th Parliament following his reelection.
“I held the position between August 31, 2017, and May 2020 when I was removed from the office of Deputy Speaker through a motion of no confidence sponsored by my political party,” he explained.
Kindiki did not seek any political office in the next election and chose to stick by Ruto despite losing out on the bid to be the latter’s running mate.
The Interior CS nominee further revealed that he has been a consultant for many UN agencies as well as COMESA, EAC, IGAD, African Union and many local and international NGOs.
“I have published approximately 32 publications in form of books and peer-review articles,” Kindiki added.
He has also been a visiting professor in many universities including Central European University in Budapest and the University of Sao Paolo – Brazil.