President Uhuru Kenyatta has reportedly extended the term of National Intelligence Service (NIS) Director General, Major General (Rtd) Philip Wachira Kameru for another five years.
According to the NIS Act, the DG shall hold office for a term of five years and may be eligible for reappointment for one further term.
Uhuru appears to have put his trust in the spy chief, who has been instrumental in the fight against graft and terrorism, with the NIS playing a major role in the Multi-Agency Task Team.
Members of the team include officials from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), NIS, Financial Reporting Centre (FRC), EACC, Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), the Asset Recovery Agency (ARA) and the Attorney General.
After taking over from his predecessor, Michael Gichangi, cases of terror are said to have substantially reduced under his watch.
Terror attacks that rocked Nairobi and Mombasa between 2012 and 2014 seem to have waned.
Some of the terror incidents that happened under his leadership were the Garissa University attack in 2015, that left 148 dead and the January 2019 DusitD2 attack that left 21 people dead.
Reports indicate that Kameru's term extension could also be linked with the succession politics as Uhuru's second and final presidential term comes to an end in 2022.
The Standard reports that Kameru could be poised to play a significant role in the transition of government.
The spymaster is also believed to have played a major role, behind the scenes, in the March 2018 famous handshake between Uhuru and opposition leader Raila Odinga.
Kameru was nominated on August 21, 2014, and was sworn into office on September 11. His term was expected to end on September 11, 2019.
