On Thursday, the Interior Cabinet Secretary Nominee Kithure Kindiki disclosed he remained silent during the recent anti-government protests due to restrictions on his duties.
While appearing before the National Assembly Committee on Appointments, Kindiki revealed he was restricted to only giving directives on policy issues and not operational orders.
According to the CS nominee, there was no constitutional provision for the Interior Cabinet Secretary to issue a directive to police officers on operational duties.
“The events were mainly operational issues, the work of the minister as envisaged in article 245 of the constitution is to give the organs of national security policy direction and guidance,” Kindiki clarified.
"There are only two people who can give the police directives, the Interior CS, but only on policy issues and the Director of Public Prosecutions when demanding investigations,” he added.
The former CS clarified that the operational duties of the police were independently handled by the command section of the National Police Service.
During the grilling session, Kindiki also commended the police service for its relentless efforts to deal with the criminals who infiltrated the protests.
According to Kindiki, about 54 police cars were destroyed by the demonstrators during the recent events that paralysed the country.
"I estimate that on a broader scale of things, generally, the police tried their best to protect the country against criminals, including those who visited Parliament and wanted to kill parliamentarians," Kindiki stated.
Kindiki further noted there were proposed guidelines on how future incidents similar to the ones witnessed in the recent weeks would be handled including rules on designated picketing areas.
Kithure Kindiki was among President Ruto's allies who were sacked when the Head of State dissolved his cabinet. He would however make a comeback when Ruto nominated him to serve in the same capacity once again.
