I'll be loyal and won't let you down, Kindiki tells Ruto

Deputy President Kithure Kindiki Friday vowed to be loyal and faithful to President William Ruto even as he remained forever grateful to his boss for appointing him his deputy.

In his speech after taking the oath of office, Prof Kindiki also committed to supporting Ruto “to realise a Kenya that has even greater opportunities, a more inclusive Kenya, a more democratic Kenya, and a more transformed Kenya.”

In his promise not to ape his predecessor, Rigathi Gachagua to avoid the pitfalls that saw him hounded out of office for sabotaging his boss, Kindiki swore to serve under Ruto loyally.

“I want to commit to you, before this congregation and before the Almighty God, who is acknowledged in the Constitution, that I will serve under you and provide you with the assistance and support you require to take this country to the next level. I commit. I will be loyal and faithful,” Kindiki said, adding:

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 “I stand here today and take the oath of office of the Deputy President. It can only happen in Kenya. I was born 52 years ago in one of the remotest parts of Kenya, but because Kenya is the land and the homeland of possibilities, today I, perhaps the most unlikely person, standing here today because Kenya has made it possible for anybody to become anything in this country.”

He said he was grateful because of the opportunity to serve as the second in command, terming it a testament that Kenya provided such an opportunity for anyone to aspire to be anything.

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“Therefore, there is no reason, going forward, why any person from anywhere, from whatever community, creed, or religion, should not aspire to become anything in our country. Because I am a testament that Kenya is the homeland of possibilities,” Kindiki said as he stressed that it had dawned on him that Kenya is the country of possibility.

He added that he would try the best of his ability to work hard, together with other colleagues in the government, to lighten the burden that his boss carries on his shoulders adding that he was grateful for the position that saw him receive “the highest honour yet” of his life.

“I have served you in various capacities. Therefore, Your Excellency, I am grateful for the honour which you have given me. I promise you before this congregation and before God that I will not let you down for the privilege you have given me,” he said.

At the same time, Kindiki paid tribute to his wife Joyce Kithure, a lecturer at the University of Nairobi’s Chemistry department who he said has was “a professional in her own right but has sacrificed to raise our three children, Imani, Neema, and Mwende.”

“And to the colleagues whom we have worked with and will continue to work with, I want to say that I will provide continuity so that we can be able to all work together and deliver for this country,” he added.

The new DP also offered to take responsibility for the challenges that had been occasioned in the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government where he served as the Cabinet Secretary before he was nominated to replace Gachagua who was impeached by the National Assembly on September 18.  

“When you gave me the task the last two years of serving in the Ministry of the Interior, there are wonderful people whom I have worked with, the police, the prisons, immigration, and all the departments and agencies in the Ministry of the Interior. The little successes that we could have achieved, I attribute those successes to my colleagues. If there have been a few challenges, I take responsibility for those challenges,” he said.

He interpreted the court process that had prevented him from taking the oath of office as a testament of the maturity of the country’s democracy and a testament that Kenya’s institutions work.

“And even as we celebrate our Constitution and our democracy, I pay tribute to those who proposed to fight for and defend the establishment of our country and our constitutional order. I am grateful to those who are responsible for creating the Kenya that we live in today, in the past and in the present,” he said.