Kithure Kindiki: The transfiguration of soft-spoken academic to abrasive politician breathing fire

As presidential historians posited elsewhere, a Vice President (Deputy President in Kenya) is, without choice, destined to be a lap dog or an attack dog, or better still, both. And never neither. Kindiki may well be a showcase of that Deputy Presidential fate in real motion.

Until recently, this was unimaginable of Kindiki. The law professor was never high pitched; and seldom raised his voice. He was the urbane, mild-mannered gentleman of the soft voice. But in the Mbeere North by-election, Kindiki was not sparing any decibels, taking on ‘Goliath’. 

In Mbeere North, Prof Kindiki fought hard and long. This was a decisive race with consequential outcomes. As the Deputy President who replaced the leader on the opposite side of the campaign, Kindiki had his own honour on the line. 

A loss in Mbeere would mean a loss to Rigathi Gachagua, his predecessor. He would not have heard the end of it. Not after Gachagua berated him so publicly, and so repeatedly. And so Kindiki had to prove he was no soprano. He went a pitch higher.

Prof Kindiki started as a Kenyatta-Ruto insider during the crimes against humanity cases at International Criminal Court (ICC) where he was defence counsel for first accused William Ruto, whom he now deputises.

Since the ICC cases, Prof Kindiki has never been too far from the centre of the Kenyatta-Ruto axis. Except when the relations between the two collapsed, and Kindiki fell through the cracks as he was removed from Senate Deputy Speaker post. The exit debate saw Prof Kindiki change his tone from soft-spoken to something slightly rougher on the edges.

Then, Prof. Kindiki remained loyal to the embattled Deputy President Ruto, deftly applying his legal and technocratic energies to the Ruto cause. As the Chief Agent during the 2022 elections, Prof Kindiki was Ruto’s quiet force at the Bomas of Kenya, where the race concluded in a literal scrum.

Without surprise, Prof Kindiki landed the powerful Interior docket when President Ruto named his Cabinet. The docket is traditionally reserved for the most trusted, and Kindiki fit the bill. At the Interior Ministry, Kindiki switched his academic suits for the combat jacket and the law books for security briefs.

Then came the impeachment of Rigathi Gachagua, and the political heavens opened yet again for Kindiki. He wasted no time stamping his authority as Deputy President, starting with his immediate rural neighborhood where he adjudged a Cabinet Secretary out of line.

“You are no longer an MP! Respect this flag! You cannot be a member of the Executive and go around inciting the public against the same government you serve. Stop complaining and work,” Kindiki censured newly-appointed Public Service CS Geoffrey Ruku. 

It was in the recent Mbeere North by-election where the final stage of his metamorphosis was revealed. Leading the UDA charm offensive, the Professor was unrecognizable. No longer quoting the constitution as he was wont to, but throwing political punches, taking on his predecessor’s allies with an abrasive Village-to-Village approach.

“Wale wanafikiria mlima ni ya mtu mmoja, watajua hawajui! Sisi hatupigi kelele, sisi tunapiga kazi! Gachagua awache mambo ya fitina, mlima sasa uko na kiongozi mpya!” Kindiki said. 

From the lecture hall to the political trenches, Kithure Kindiki has traded his chalk for a baton.