Kindiki Ksh.150M richer 21 months after first CS appointment

Interior Cabinet Secretary nominee Kithure Kindiki on Thursday said his net worth has jumped Ksh.150 million since his first appointment as CS in October 2022.

Kindiki, who served in the Interior docket before President William Ruto dissolved his Cabinet on July 11, told Parliament during his vetting that his wealth has since increased from Ksh.544 million to Ksh.694 million.

“I said at that time, which I still do now, that I run a business which today even if I do not practise law, is working and much of that revenue has come from it. It is still active and being managed by other people,” the law professor turned minister told the National Assembly Committee on Appointments at County Hall in Nairobi.

He defended his integrity during his 21 months as the interior minister, saying “I have not benefitted from any improper business; I have not done any business with the government, any tender by myself, proxy, relative or anybody.”

Kindiki is among the members President William Ruto nominated back to his Cabinet after he dissolved it on July 11 in the wake of nationwide protests against his administration.

The 52-year-old is a career lawyer with 26 years under his belt across both legal practice, academia and politics.

Before he was first appointed to Ruto’s Cabinet, Kindiki had served for two terms as the senator of Tharaka Nithi.

He previously taught law at Moi University and the University of Nairobi, where he rose through the ranks to be the associate dean of the university’s school of law.

But Kindiki’s term as the security minister recently saw the police heavily criticised for using excessive force and violence against Kenyans in the wake of the anti-government protests.

Top of the issues is the opening of fire on unarmed Kenyans, forceful arrests and orchestrating the abduction of vocal personalities in the demonstrations in what is seen as suppression of dissent against Ruto’s administration.

Over 60 people have been confirmed killed since the demos began, according to the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights.

Kindiki has defended the police’s conduct and last month said the government would take action against “claims of abductions and enforced disappearances allegedly perpetrated by security personnel” during the protests.