As a human rights lawyer, you had a impressive legal career, winning landmark cases in the country. What incentivized you to join politics?
I still consider myself a lawyer. I am an advocate of the High Court of Kenya, a member of the law society of Kenya, International bar Association, American Bar Association and my law firm is still active.
I have an active practice that is now in partnership with a Chinese law firm. It is now Ababu Jinchi Advocates that helps with Chinese businesses in Africa. It blends the Chinese legal system and Kenya’s Westminster legal system.
I am very proud of the work I have done as an attorney, especially handling cases of immense public interest. My best case is one I did for Nyumbani Children’s home that we styled around Brown and Board of Education landmark Suit in the US. It enacted and reaffirmed the right to education as a fundamental human right for every human being.
So, when I learnt some schools in Nairobi were discriminating against children because they had HIV-Aids, I found that completely horrific and I took the case pro bono. The current Chief Justice, Martha Koome, presided over that case.
Our point was very simple, you cannot discriminate against any Kenyan child on the basis of their health status. We got a landmark ruling that reaffirmed the right of every Kenyan child to access education not withstanding their health, social status or their tribe.
You mention the case of the Pakistani young man, Farid, who was victim of the overzealous effort to appear to be fighting terrorism. He was arrested in Garissa commando style by a combination of Kenyan forces and what I believe were American Intelligence officers, Secret Agents I would say, simply because he is of Arabic extraction and that he was Muslim.
He was a Kenyan because his father was a Kenyan of Pakistani extraction. We were able to prove that Farid was being victimised on account of his religion, race - that he was Arab and he had nothing to do with terrorism. Another landmark ruling that set the boundaries on how to prosecute even the worst cases of terror.
These are cases that reflect my constitutionalism and civil liberties.
Why did I leave the environment I was enjoying to join politics?
I had been a student leader right from high school, to the university where I planted the seed for the revival of Sonu (students union). I was also the president of the Students Law Society.
I had a background in leadership but I didn’t see myself transiting into national politics. I didn’t excite me, I hadn’t given it any thought. So my entry into politics was a happenstance. I, however, had two big attractions that flipped that coin for me.
The first was the obsession and passion for constitution reform to make Kenya a just country. That anchored my thesis: The Delicate Balance in Constitution Reform.
It dawned on me that the best way to influence the Constitution change is on the political platform. The decision makers in lawmaking sit in Parliament.
The other inventive was the state of Budalang’i. It was always known as an epitome of suffering, floods and I thought it was the wrong image that needed to be changed.
But I have never said this.
it took a conversation with William Ruto for me to finally make that decision. One morning in April 2003, he came to my law firm on State House Avenue holding the Sunday Nation and he told me he was looking for the gentleman who had written a certain article in the daily. I was a columnist.
We had a long conversation around the article, which was about my vision about Kenya as it was at a time the country was in a very good mood following the Narc win.
He asked me, “Why don’t you transform this dream and your idealism into political reality? Why don’t you consider being part of a political movement?”
That conversation ultimately shaped my decision. He had at that time become the secretary general of a vanquished Kanu. I believe the idea was “can we identify fresh minds that would give their team [Kanu] some fresh take off?”
And how did you manage to win Budalang’I on your first attempt and at such a young age?
It was very complicated. I started mobilising in 2003 and doing the ground work. I invited the Sananda Foundation, which is associated with Real Madrid, to sponsor some programmes. I took Raila Odinga for the first time to Budalang’is to play football at Sigomere village under the foundation. He was branded in the white Real Madrid kit.
I soon later left for my masters in the US in 2004. When the referendum was happening, I was there. I mobilized an international team of students and professionals and helped form the Change Movement International and even invited Raila to Washington DC in September 2005. That’s how we contributed to the defeat of the adulterated constitution.
I came back in August 2006 and continued where I had left. It was difficult to sell Raila in Western at the time as he had no base at the time, and secondly, since 2002 elections, it was a Ford Kenya stronghold. Wamalwa Kijana had done very well in terms of mobilising.
It was not easy to dismantled an established political machine in Ford Kenya but we had a good message and represented a good brand.
I won that election comfortably but it was very violent. People died and a young man was shot and died right in my hands. I successfully defended my seat in 2013.
You were also among the youngest Ministers in the grand coalition government. How was it sitting with the old and experienced in the Cabinet?
It was a very good experience and it was not just about sitting in the Cabinet but also in the 10th Parliament.
I was introduced to politics at a very good state. I entered Parliament with the best minds this country can count – Kiraitu Murungi, Martha Karua, Kalonzo Musyoka, Mutula Kilonzo Snr, Raila , Mwai Kibaki, James Orengo SC and William Ole Ntimama.
It was Bunge where even to catch the Speaker’s attention, you better be prepared because anybody there could have you for lunch as it was the Parliament for the ODM-PNU heated differences.
Did these tensions get into the Grand Coalition Cabinet?
You would feel the under currents of differences but President Kibaki went beyond the call of duty to avoid anything that would cause divisions in the Cabinet.
These are people who would make very divisive statements outside Cabinet. For instance the time Raila was in Kwale and he complained bitterly about some carpet and a toilet and Ali Chirau Mwakwere answered him very rudely.
There would be some tensions but Kibaki really tried to fly above them. In one case, he was very dismissive of a minister who tried to bring a divisive issue. He was very available, he would call me to check on the development in the Youth and Sports affairs in my ministry.
Ababu Namwamba
As the PAC chairman, team became the first watchdog committee to be disbanded on allegations of corruption in Kenya's history. Would you explain what actually happened?
The Public Accounts Committee saga of 2015 was pure politics that reflected perhaps what was going on at the time.
We had probed the Jet issue, the confidential vote and how it is used and and we said, even if it won’t be audited in the normal way, there needs to be a manner to scrutinize public resources. Then we investigated OT Morpho on KIEMS kit procurement by the electoral commission.
But immediately after the very fractious ODM elections, this moved from Kasarani [where the [polls were] to Parliament. The fight against me in PAC was not started by the rival Jubilee but my ODM team.
I believe the intention was to taint me so that it would be used to remove me as ODM secretary general. There had been incredible efforts to stop me from becoming secretary general.
They manufactured all sorts of stuff that I am being funded by Jubilee, that we wanted to sell the party. All sorts of nonsense.
When they failed, a scheme was hatched to taint me in Parliament and in the public eye. Then you would be able to argue that if Ababu has failed in a committee to fight corruption, why should he be the secretary general?
I told Raila this was a manufactured scandal with political undertones whose intention is to create a basis to remove me as secretary general. I said if that was the intention, there was no need to soil my name. I could as well vacate the office.
It was a classical case if give a dog a bad name and then kill it. We had no scandal. If it was, why didn’t the EACC investigate it or any other body with prosecutorial powers?
I, however, admitted that I had information, which I presented to Parliament, that a committee member had been approached by someone and offered him a favour to influence a committee decision.
I took this matter to Raila, a meeting I recorded. And when we hear some people talking about the war on corruption, it is all mere talk. There is nothing. This fellow also shared the information with the party leader. We also shared with Parliament and Speaker [Justin} Muturi. Other than that, there is zero dirt you can ascribe to be. I am as clean as snow.
As ODM secretary general, there was the Young Turks team that sought to take over the party leadership, a move that was violently opposed at Kasarani. Was this your departure with Raila?
Parties are like private members club where people subscribe to certain ideologies. It is about serving the people, seeking a just and equitable society. Being part of the Orange movement, it was out of my belief that we stood for social justice.
But when I realised this was mere talk to impress some excitable people out there, it is a hoax, I had to leave.
It is not right to say we wanted to take over the party. We wanted to reinvigorate it. I had come up with the slogan "ODM Fresh". It was about giving ODM a more vibrant demeanor around the party leader. Earlier, before 2013 polls, I had launched "ODM Reloaded", which took this country by storm. But the attempt to freshen up the party was violently shuttered by the Men in Black. It was unfortunate and demonstrated the lie that defines some of these political movements: that they don't walk the talk.
You went on to lose the Budalang’I seat and was appointed CAS. Didn’t you feel as a demotion having served as minister?
First, one thing in my mind is that I didn’t lose an election. In that moment of shifting my position, certain dynamics came into play. One, ODM went overboard to demonstrate that if I am leaving the party, then my political life was coming to an end.
Budalang’I is surrounded by Luo constituencies and they imported voters to dilute my support. Raila, I think, campaigned in Budalang’I more times than anywhere else. At least five times.
Also, Uhuru was a hard sell in Western. For those of us who decided to support him in 2017, we paid the price. But he still did well, getting 11,000 votes from about 200 in 2013.
I ended up here and it is perhaps my best time in public service.
I am able to compare the four years I have been here with the 10 years in Parliament and the time I spent at the Ministry of Youth and Sports. It has been best here.
And I have never felt it as a demotion because one, I have continuous, unlimited, unrestricted access to the President and two, I have substantive responsibilities here.
What are some of your highlights?
The South Sudan Peace Process.
I personally visited Riek Machar (First Vice President of South Sudan) in Pretoria as part of the efforts to convince him to return to Juba. I have held countless meetings with President Salva Kiir in efforts to thaw the hardline positions. This has been a key initiative this office has played: Getting the Sudan Peace Process back on track and the government of South Sudan in place. I am still engaged alongside Igad.
I have also been involved in policy and legal formulation at the ministry. I was responsible for the Foreign Service Bill that has now become law.
The CS acknowledged my leadership of that process. I chair the Ministry’s Standing Committee on Emergency Response that is now responsible for Covid-19 response. I also took the centre stage in the campaign for the UN Security Council. I have also represented the President in many international fora, latest being at the Turkey Africa Summit.
I have done more as Foreign Affairs CAS than I did as Minister of Sports, where I also delivered the Sports Act. I am now leading a review of the Diaspora Policy and with CS Simon Chelugui, reviewing the bilateral legal instruments with countries that are causing our people a lot of trouble.
Dealing with issues such as Ethiopia needs a lot of political awareness. I have had a great time and also a good break from the rough political combat.
You have backed Ruto for presidency. Why is he your choice, and does it affect your relationship with the President, the appointing authority?
I am still the CAS under the pleasure of the President. And for as long as President Kenyatta retains me, he can be assured of my best in input and performance.
So why William Ruto?
In 2017, I said UhuRuto! I supported a team and before I backed them, I sat with the President and his deputy and they shared with me his vision for Kenya.
Kenyans can see the manifestation of the vision President Kenyatta has had for this country: The Expressway, the infrastructural revolution he has presided over. I shared with that vision.
And I am happy that today, the people who thought I had made a blunder, like my ODM friends, today support Uhuru more than I do. This means that even them, they now agree the decision I made in 2017 was right.
They call him my brother, support everything he does, say he is the best President ever. I tell them, 'karibuni sana'. Your Damascus moment came a bit late, but it still came. It vindicates my decision to back Uhuru.
UhuRuto vision was joint. So, who is best placed to continue it?
The President told me, 'I want to drive this vision for five years, and my brother Ruto will continue'.
For me it is only natural to continue my 2017 decision through Ruto.
Even the Bible teaches me that you will harvest what you sow. Why would anyone else harvest from the Jubilee vision where he did not plant? These people planted chaos and violence, fake swearing-in in the desert and now want to harvest from UhuRuto vision? Is thus just even before God?
For me the man who understands the UhuRuto vision best is the person who was part of its formulation. That person is William Ruto.
What are your political plans. Are you gunning for Busia governorship?
I am not running for any political office.
I am going to be working very closely with Ruto to deliver his presidency. I believe he offers this country a fresh beginning. I believe this country is at the cusp of a fresh beginning that has a paradigm shift in how it manages the affairs of Kenya. An equitable society where everyone can become something and feel they belong. I believe in this vision amplified by the DP. Another Kenya is possible under DP Ruto.
So are you eying a Cabinet slot?
It is not a good idea to put the cart in front of a horse.
We have an election to win and we are determined to win it by doing everything constitutionally permitted to have Ruto elected the Fifth President of Kenya. After that, whom he decides to work with and where will be his prerogative.
Parting shot?
There is no spare Kenya. Let politics not be a reason to pull this country asunder. Whomever becomes president, governor, they need a country and county to run and a people to govern. Lets do politics in a manner that maintains the peace of this country and doesn’t scare away investors or undoes the investment President Kenyatta has done to fly away because of loose tongue. Let’s “chunga mdomo” (be careful with our tongue) in the campaigns.
