What The Appointment of New Intelligence Chief Tells Us About President Kibaki’s Intentions

Even as President Kibaki appointed a new director-general to head the National Security Intelligence Service, on Monday this week (16th January 2006), his mind must have lingered for a moment on the time in 1991 when as Health Minister, he caused the sacking of Kenya’s second spy chief, James Kanyotu.

Actually Kibaki’s announcement on Christmas Day 1991 also caused the sacking of another dedicated and professional Kenyan, the then KTN (Kenya Television Network) news editor Rose Lukalo. That was the day that Kibaki announced his resignation from the then Moi government and the formation of his new Democratic Party of Kenya (DP). Kibaki had been demoted from Vice-President to Health Minister and despite being urged by many to join the opposition and abandon Kanu, he had remained indecisive and delayed his decision for too long (sounds familiar?). Well, at least until that Christmas day in 1991, when he made his bombshell announcement from Mombasa, which was promptly aired on KTN TV as a news flash (very rare thing in those days). The professional Rose Lukalo must have realized that this was a major news scoop but failed to grasp its’ implications on those who owned the TV station (persons very close to President Moi). She was promptly fired.

Sources say that the then President Moi, who may have been personally watching the news, promptly called his then head of Special Branch, James Kanyotu and demanded, quite rightly, to know why he was getting this information for the first time through the media. Kanyotu was fired on the telephone. (Tells you a lot about Moi’s style of governing and how reliant it was on information).

This week the current President did what most of his close advisors have been pushing him to do for ages – he got himself a new spy boss.

That tells you a number of things about the President’s intentions in the months to come. Firstly he is going all out for re-election in the general elections, scheduled for next year. This is further confirmed by his recent activity (see today’s news about what a leading Kenyan newspaper called his “whistle-stop tours”).

Ignore all the talk about legal hitches that stopped Brig Wilson Boinett’s contract renewal. (Section 6 (2) of the National Security Intelligence Service Act says the Director-General "shall hold office for one term of five years, but shall be eligible for re-appointment for one further term of a period not exceeding five years."). The Kibaki administration has been notorious for ignoring court orders, let alone the small print in the constitution that could easily be side-stepped by allowing Boinett to hold office without a contract, pending a replacement. This can go on for years. At he time Kanyotu was fired by Moi he was working under an arrangement where he was a sort of consultant on contract, his legal tenure at the Special Branch having long expired.

The truth is that those close to the President do not trust this highly professional spy – arguably the best Kenya has ever had. Matters have been made worse by President Moi’s growing political influence in the country, mainly caused by the blundering Kibaki administration. (Also ignore the so-called squabble within Kanu over Ruto’s announcement that he is seeking the Kanu nomination to stand for President. This is simply politics – see other story in this blog). Moi’s influence is not declining, it is growing by the day.

For those with short memories Boinett was President Moi’s ADC aide de camp between 1978 and 1985. He was appointed to head the Special Branch because Moi needed somebody he could totally trust after the failed military coup attempt of August 1982. Boinett’s closeness to Moi can never be in doubt.

One of the reasons why Boinett had to go was so that the President can deal with the problem of Moi’s growing influence – especially as the general; elections draw nearer.

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