Gachagua demands NIS Director Haji's resignation over intelligence failures amid Finance Bill protests

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has called for the resignation of National Intelligence Service (NIS) Director General Noordin Haji, faulting him for overseeing what he described as a decline in the agency's effectiveness under his stewardship.

Speaking from Mombasa on Wednesday, Gachagua lamented that since Haji succeeded Major General (Rtd) Philip Wachira Kameru in June 2023 the NIS has become dysfunctional, failing to adequately assess public sentiment, particularly concerning the now withdrawn Finance Bill 2024.

"I sympathise with President Ruto because this information was not available to him. NIS is mandated to provide such information and that is where the problem is; we have a dysfunctional NIS that has exposed the President, the government and the people of Kenya," said Gachagua.

"Noordin Haji must take responsibility for the deaths that have occurred, the mayhem witnessed and for failing Ruto, the government and Kenya by not doing his job and advising correctly. He must not just take responsibility but resign from that office and allow the president to pick a competent DG" 

According to Gachagua, had Haji properly briefed Ruto on the widespread public opposition to the Bill, Ruto would not have forwarded it to Parliament, thus averting the nationwide protests that escalated on Tuesday, culminating in protesters storming Parliament.

"People had to die, property destroyed and protests for the President to know what Kenyans felt, yet there is an organisation funded by Kenyans to brief the president and the public about the sentiments of Kenyans."

"Officers from the National Police Service (NPS) have told me in confidence that they did not receive advance intelligence briefs about the magnitude of the protests. Never have protesters invaded Parliament."

Gachagua persisted in his tirade, vehemently criticizing Haji, alleging that he was unfit and lacked the qualifications for the top position in the NIS.

"When he (Haji) was appointed to the office of the Director General, he chased away all the people who were senior to him when he was in the service because of an inferiority complex, crippling NIS and making it dysfunctional," he said.

"Three directors were chased away and reassigned to desk jobs across the government. 13 assistant directors, men and women with proven track records of intelligence and analysis, were removed from the NIS leaving a shell under a clueless Director General with no capacity to run the organisation.  That is why the security sector was caught off guard by the intensity of the protests. Had Noordin Haji done his job; we would not be where we are today."