- Interior PS Dr Raymond Omollo has defied the odds and brought a paradigm shift to an office that had often been known for some murky dealings of politics.
- The PS has particularly been on the receiving end from the opposition brigade, but they do not seem to have any clear case against him.
Image: HANDOUT
On January 14, 2024, Guatemala installed a unique president after Bernardo Arévalo catapulted into the top office. The surprise was that Arévalo had not been a ‘full-blown’ politician. A veteran diplomat, he had not been well known in the cycles of local politics.
Being a ‘professional’ peacebuilder, his sudden victory intensified the surprise as he defied the odds of political and legal manipulations by the ‘system’ bureaucrats. This also never came without a challenge as the citizenry escalated, including high expectations of the public.
A similar parallel was one big surprise when the new Principal Secretaries were appointed by President William Ruto in September 2022. A ‘new’ name of Dr Raymond Ojwang Omollo was conspicuous as the accounting officer for the Ministry of Interior and National Administration.
Like Arévalo, Dr Omollo was not a populist, neither had he been an overt political activist before his appointment. He is, of course, a professional and academician who earned his PhD in Applied Statistics, and has worked in different capacities for about 15 years.
One year since his appointment, Dr Omollo has also defied the odds to bring a paradigm shift to an office that had often been known for some murky dealings of politics. He also, like Arévalo, faced great challenges of meeting the enormous public expectations.
For example, he faced cases of citizens killed and their bodies dumped in River Yala every other week. Other challenges included dealing with public servants some of whom were divided by political affiliation. A worse challenge that he still has to deal with is sporadic crowds of militarised young Kenyans mobilised by opposition politicians into street demonstrations (known as maandamano).
As if he enormously prepared for the task ahead, Dr Omollo writes on his LinkedIn page that he is “passionate in transforming lives through socio-economic activities for communities working through multidisciplinary teams”. This however, is not the issue of interest.
Curiously, therefore, it might be insightful to reflect why President Ruto might have landed on two distinguished scholars to run the sensitive docket of internal security and national administration. Did the duo represent a futuristic aspiration to bring professionalism into this State department? In my analysis, it is notable how the security agencies under their tenure exposed the tragic Shakahola cult massacre, which claimed over 400 lives. Perpetrators of this terror have since been charged in court.
Another security issue that has seen a different approach is the handling of demonstrations, which relatively (compared to the past), registered fewer casualties and mortalities from the State-triggered bullets. Incidentally, as well, the country is making a quick and tangible recovery from the effects of El Nino rains besides an experience of relative calm despite the biting economic crisis.
Despite the intriguing and historical nature of cattle rustling in the North Rift, which continues to distabilise local communities, recent statistics show that the prevalence has since de-escalated in the past one year. A similar outcome has been reported about intercommunal violence (often triggered by resource conflicts) that is also no longer regular in the news bulletins.
In addressing most of these issues, it is noticeable how the focus has been on the issues and less on politics and political players. Visible in the domains is the new strategy of engaging local communities to dialogue and an effort to enhance community empowerment programmes. I must acknowledge, in advance, that all these improvements are not attributable to one person – but the entire leadership in the State department.
It is exciting how the success stories might have made Dr Omollo a rare target of some political elites. The PS has particularly been on the receiving end from the opposition brigade, but they do not seem to have any clear case against him. This renders some claims to be mere hatemongering hanging on the fears that the PS is gaining popularity by virtue of his demeanour.
This misinformed gaze has not gone without immediate and equal resistance by the younger generation of professional groups and individuals. The new crop of leaders defends Dr Omollo as a futuristic leader representing a restoration of generational integrity. Some enticing physiognomies about Dr Omollo are his ability to soberly engage in dialogue, remain calm, and focus on issues.
Dr Omollo’s simplicity and courage seem to endear him to the new generation of Kenyans. Nonetheless, his close friends and alumni colleagues see his strength in using dialogue with a wide range of actors to build broad societal consensus.
Just like the strategy that worked for Bernardo Arévalo in Guatemala, the dialogue approach can be attributed to an existing mutual understanding between different groups of the Kenyan community in the pursuit of peace and security.
As a peace and conflict expert, I do opine that the use of dialogue has enabled Dr Omollo, and his boss in charge of our internal security, to forge a new social contract with the people of Kenya.
Dr Sam Oando is a scholar of Peace and Conflict