Soft-spoken Kithure Kindiki finds own footing as he marks 100 days as DP

When Deputy President Kithure Kindiki took oath office in November 2024, he joined the ranks of an administration suffering from growing public distrust and one yearning for a political renaissance.

Having ascended to the second-highest office position riding on the political miscalculations of his predecessor Rigathi Gachagua, Prof Kindiki was quickly plunged into the murky world of politicking and public engagements, a deviation from his soft-spoken, non-confrontational nature.

But President William Ruto, who had complained of loneliness at the helm following his fallout with Gachagua, bet on Kindiki to turn around the fortunes of his administration whose chinks in the armour kept widening, thanks to a series of political misfortunes that began with the anti-government protest in June 2024.  

As Deputy President Kindiki marked 100 days in office yesterday, he is everything that Ruto could have wished for and more.

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He has done so by adopting a gather-all-and-scatter-none political approach where he is rallying leaders from across the political divide, unlike Gachagua who fostered an us-versus-them approach.

Ruto has also on several occasions tapped his Deputy’s conflict resolution skills to settle disputes such as the protracted doctor's strike and one by teachers.

According to sources within the presidency, Kindiki has held consultations with a total of 250 MPs out of the 349 in various meetings on government policy. Out of 67 senators, he has already had conversations with 40.

At his Karen residence, he has hosted leaders from the Mt Kenya region, Taita Taveta, Embu, Tharaka Nithi, Isiolo and Kajiado counties where he has used the opportunity to communicate the government’s developmental and political agenda.

He is also set to meet with a delegation from Kiambu tomorrow (Monday).

Insiders reveal that the DP has been on a campaign to restore public trust by engaging the delegations which are mostly made up of grassroots leaders who can influence Kenya Kwanza’s perception ‘on the ground’.

“For the last two years, we have not done anything because our brother was not bothered by the development of anything. He never called a single delegation from any county to ask them what we committed to do. The government has got reputational problems in many parts of the country since there is no one to assist the President in tracking the development agenda of the country, meaning that we have wasted two years,” Kindiki said when he met a delegation from Tharaka Nithi in January.

The DP has also traversed the country and has been to 20 out of the 47 counties and held over 50 meetings with sectoral groups which have paved the way for the removal of bottlenecks that had hindered key projects from taking off.

He has also taken up the role of measuring Kenya Kwanza’s progress in the implementation of the economic charters signed in the run-up to the 2022 elections. In this endeavour, the DP has engaged more than 1,000 delegates per region in discussions prioritising development.  

In his role, Kindiki has further positioned himself as the ‘fixer’ of Ruto’s battered political image. Sources reveal that Kindiki is now in charge of overseeing the implementation and completion of government projects before President Ruto commissions the same.

This is meant to shield the Head of State from the embarrassment of commissioning incomplete projects or non-existent ones. “The President has held back a bit because he now has a helper. There’s an agreement that Ruto will not launch projects anymore. The respective Cabinet Secretary will launch a project and the DP will coordinate its completion.  Once complete the President will come to commission it. This is to protect the reputation of the President from embarrassment. In case the project stalls he doesn’t get backlash,” said the source.

“The delivery agenda of governments is firmly in the hands of Kindiki. He holds the key to Ruto’s re-election which is through the implementation of projects.”

Further, Kindiki, unlike Gachagua has been credited with rejuvenating Cabinet sub-committees which he has consistently chaired and ensured results.

“Cabinet Secretaries had lost faith in the previous Deputy President. They say that whenever he called for a meeting, he would always be on his phone. There was no follow-through or anything. Consequently, only three or four would show up which would lead to the meeting not taking place due to a lack of quorum,” observed the source.

Political analyst Prof Macharia Munene avers that despite Kindiki’s efforts, he has continued to struggle politically.

 “Kindiki has done his best in the first 100 days even though he is a tool to be used by Ruto to get to 2027,” said Munene.

“Kindiki’s biggest mistake in his 100 days is that he has continued to fight with a man who grows increasingly popular. In the grand scheme of things, whatever he does may not be as impactful as what Ruto’s insiders such as Farouk Kibet, Kipchumba Murkomen or Oscar Sudi do,” he added.

Samburu Governor Lati Leleli told The Sunday Standard that in Kindiki, Ruto had found a trusted right-hand man. “He knows the programmes and projects the government is doing, why and how they are being executed, and how they will improve the livelihoods of Kenyans” said Lelei.