The man who was the face of the Kenyan government in the wake of the deadly police crackdown on recent anti-tax protests will become the country’s next vice president.
Parliament has approved the appointment of the soft-spoken Kithure Kindiki to fill the vacant role, after senators ousted Rigathi Gachagua in a dramatic series of impeachment votes less than 24 hours ago.
The 52-year-old former law professor served as President William Ruto’s Home Affairs Minister for the past two years.
In charge of security forces, he oversaw the response to the wave of protests that began in June.
More than 40 people were killed in clashes with police and at least 300 others were injured, but Kindiki praised officers for exercising “restraint” in maintaining law and order. He also denied that killing orders had been issued.
His stance was met with public anger, with rights groups demanding justice for both victims and individuals kidnapped under mysterious circumstances.
In his response to the demonstrations, Kindiki burnished his credentials as a supporter of the president and survived a cull of ministers.
This was no surprise, as he had long been a close ally of the president and had served as his lawyer during a case before the International Criminal Court (ICC) more than a decade ago.
Ruto, then an MP, was charged with crimes against humanity over the violence that followed the 2007 elections, which left more than 1,200 people dead.
The case was eventually dismissed due to insufficient evidence, but prosecutors argued that witnesses had been intimidated.
Kindiki, like Gachagua, comes from the Mount Kenya region and will be able to strengthen the president’s support in that area in the aftermath of the impeachment.
Always smartly dressed and with a neat, close-cropped haircut, the father-of-two refined his measured style of speaking in the courts, but he also worked in academia.
With a master’s degree and a doctorate from the University of Pretoria in South Africa, he has authored more than 30 publications, including books and articles in academic peer-reviewed journals, both locally and internationally.
He has extensive experience in public policy, governance, public administration, legislation, constitutional matters and providing legal advice at various levels.
He started his political career in March 2013 when he was elected Senator for Tharaka-Nithi Province and served as Senate Majority Leader for five years.
He was re-elected in 2017 and served as vice-president of the chamber until 2020.
When Ruto won the 2022 presidential election, he appointed Kindiki to his first cabinet.
Since then he has represented the authorities during several traumatic incidents.
Last year, hundreds of bodies of people who had died of starvation were discovered in a remote forest. It is claimed that cult leader Paul Mackenzie had encouraged them to stop eating. He is currently on trial and denies the charges.
In the aftermath of the grim discovery of the bodies, Kindiki was at the scene and described the incident as a “massacre”.
Last month he was at a school where seventeen students had died after a fire in a dormitory. The minister promised “full responsibility for all whose actions or omissions contributed to this enormous loss”.
In 2022, there were some who thought Kindiki would be named as Ruto’s deputy, but Gachagua held the position because he brought with him significant influence and wealth.
Ruto later said he had “narrowly missed the opportunity to become deputy president”.
For now, the Nairobi High Court has stayed Kindiki’s swearing-in until it hears a case questioning Gachagua’s quick removal.
However, should Gachagua’s dismissal be upheld, Kindiki will likely prove to be a more loyal and toe-the-line deputy.
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