Professor Abraham Kithure Kindiki has been appointed as the Cabinet Secretary for Interior affairs for President Ruto’s first term. The staunch lawyer and politician has been one of Ruto’s allies from early on in the last decade.
His rise has been credited to his loyalty to Ruto from when he represented him at the ICC in Hague, Netherlands up to date.
Kithure Kindiki was born on July 16th, 1972 (50 years old as of 2022). He studied for his secondary education at Lenana School in Nairobi. He scored a Grade C at Lenana meaning he didn’t meet any Kenyan University Pass mark.
Due to his big University ambitions, Kithure Kindiki decided to repeat his final secondary school year, chewing books for a year without jokes at a school closer to his home, Tharaka Boys Secondary School.
After successfully completing his secondary final exams, Prof. Kindiki enrolled in the inaugural class of Moi University’s Bachelor of Laws program (LLB) in 1994. He completed his law degree in 1998 and following an outstanding graduate’s performance, Kithure Kindiki was retained to work as a graduate assistant.
He also received a scholarship to study for his Master of Law and Ph.D. at the University of Pretoria in South Africa, an opportunity which he didn’t pass on. In 2000, Kindiki graduated with a Master of Laws in International Human Rights Law and Democracy. 2 years later, in 2002, Kindiki graduated with a Ph.D. in International Law from the University of Pretoria.
In 2004, Professor Kindiki became a lecturer of law at the University of Nairobi. He rose the ranks at the school’s law department to become the Head of Department of Public Law & Senior Lecturer of International Law at the University of Nairobi. He is described as one of the best lawyers in the country.
He is also an intrepid writer recognized internationally for his journal works for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and other national and international organizations.
In 2008, Kithure Kindiki was appointed as the Secretary of Cohesion in the Justice Ministry, which prompted him to leave his lecturer job at the University of Nairobi. He resigned from the position just three months into his new office, claiming that there was no political goodwill to address the challenges that were facing the country then.
He returned to his lecturer position at UoN. In 2011, he represented William Ruto in the Netherlands, during the widely televised Hague trials he and former president Kenyatta were undergoing, being charged for orchestrating the 2007 Kenyan Post-election violence. It was then that he earned his fame.
In 2013, Kithure Kindiki made an entry into the political scene from the world of academia. He vied for the Tharaka Nithi senatorial seat and he managed to secure the seat. He served the people of Tharaka Nithi for two terms, winning back-to-back elections in 2013 and 2017.
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His political journey has been so far glamourous with its fair share of tribulations after he was dethroned as Majority leader by Irungu Kang’ata for failing to attend Uhuru Kenyatta’s parliamentary group meeting for the senate. He was also deposed by the Jubilee Party.
Before the elections, President Ruto had asked Kithure Kindiki to drop his bid for Tharaka-Nithi gubernatorial seat and instead help him in the national campaigns. This led to many speculating Ruto would choose him as his right-hand man for the Deputy President’s position.
However, that was not the case as the Commander in Chief opted to have him as the Interior affairs Cabinet Secretary for the Kenya Kwanza administration. He has made history as the first man from Tharaka-Nithi County to be appointed for a Cabinet Secretary role.
Kithure Kindiki married Joyce, a university lecturer in 2001, and they have had two children together. His wife, Dr. Joyce Gatiira Njagi is a lecturer at the University of Nairobi, Department of Chemistry. She has a Ph.D. in Environmental Chemistry. As of now, all of Kithure Kindiki’s siblings have at least a Master’s degree and are either done with their PhDs or are working on their PhDs.