Kenya's Kindiki: soft-spoken academic turned political heavyweight

Interior CS Kithure Kindiki. [File, Standard] Abraham Kithure Kindiki is a Kenyan academic turned politician who was thrust into the limelight when he defended his boss President William Ruto at the International Criminal Court. The 52-year-old millionaire, who has served as interior minister in Ruto's government for more than two years, was nominated to the post of deputy president on Friday following the historic impeachment of Rigathi Gachagua. Though praised by his supporters for having a common touch, the soft-spoken law professor has more recently come under fire over alleged police brutality during deadly anti-government protests that rocked Kenya earlier this year. He has also faced scrutiny over his $5.4 million wealth, which he told parliament in a grilling earlier this year came largely from his law firm and other small businesses. In 2011 Kindiki was chosen by Ruto, then an opposition MP, to join his legal team to fight charges of crimes against humanity at the ICC. Ruto faced three counts -- murder, forcible deportation and persecution -- over 2007-08 post-election tribal clashes that killed more than 1,100 people and uprooted 600,000 from their homes. Former president Uhuru Kenyatta, who was also indicted by the ICC for his alleged role in stoking the violence, had teamed with Ruto as his running-mate to win the presidency in 2013. The cases against both men eventually collapsed because of what the prosecution said was a relentless campaign of witness intimidation. Interior CS Kithure Kindiki (left) and President William Ruto (right). [File] Victim of purge Born into humble beginnings as the son of an evangelist in Irunduni village in the vote-rich Mount Kenya region in 1972, Kindiki is one of nine children, who are all in academia or research. He studied law at Kenya's Moi University before his earning his masters and PhD from the University of Pretoria in South Africa. Kindiki taught law at Kenyan universities, working his way up to become associate dean at the University of Nairobi, the country's premier educational institution. In 2008, in the wake of the election violence, he joined the government as secretary of national cohesion under the then justice ministry. But he only served in the role for 100 days and he was soon back in the classroom, before his role in the ICC trial. Kindiki was elected senator for his home county Tharaka Nithi in the 2013 poll, a post he won again in 2017. But he was an instant casualty of the acrimonious fallout between Kenyatta and Ruto in the run-up to the 2022 election. He was removed as deputy Senate speaker in a brutal purge of Ruto allies by Kenyatta's Jubilee party which had the lion's share of seats in parliament. Supporters revere the father of three's white-collar persona, burnished by his image as a unifying leader in a country with a history of deadly ethnic politics. But critics charge that he lacks the ability to whip up crowds like Gachagua, who had a limited national profile before becoming Ruto's number two. Many had expected Ruto to pick Kindiki as his running mate for the 2022 election, but Gachagua came top after a 17-hour meeting between the ruling Kenya Kwanza coalition. Ruto would later reward Kindiki, who had shelved his bid for Senate re-election in the hopes of winning the deputy presidency, with the plum role of interior minister. He became the target of public anger when he defended the actions of police against protesters during largely youth-led demonstrations that began in June. At least 60 people were killed, with rights groups accusing police of using excessive force against the demonstrators. In a bid to appease the protesters, Ruto sacked Kindiki in July along with almost all his government ministers but he was swiftly reappointed to a revamped cabinet.

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