By Eastern Newspaper Correspondent
Tharaka Nithi Senator Kithure Kindiki has been a man on the news of late, after his fellow senators axed him as the Senate Deputy Speaker.
But before the recent development that saw Jubilee Party execute a purge to relieve a section of leaders said to be affiliated to Deputy President William Ruto’s wing of the party (Tangatanga) leadership positions in the National Assembly and Senate, Senator Kindiki had been keeping a low profile, politically.
The reduced visibility in both the national and county media spaces had left tongues wagging, wondering what could be afoot.
But despite the fact that it is his fellow Jubilee Party leader in Murungá Senator Irungu Kang’ata who sponsored the motion to sack Prof Kindiki, the senators reluctantly supported the motion, as the latter is perceived a staunch supporter of Dr Ruto.
Dennis Muthuri, a political supporter of Kindiki, said Kindiki’s diminished visibility at the national and county media platforms was nothing to worry his supporters, as that absence was due to his workload-and tactical too.
“Do not read too much into the fact that Senator Kindiki is not seen in the news as before. While it is true that many people are wondering where is Kindiki and what is he up to, his influence at the county level has not waned a bit. That he is not always in Tharaka Nithi can be easily explained by the fact that he was busy executing his duties as a senate deputy speaker. But that said, Kindiki is a quiet man, who is not given to too many appearances in the media, which many politicians crave,” said Mr Muthuri, from the Chuka area.
Kindiki who was often seen at events graced by Governor Muthomi Njuki and MPs in the area has notably been absent, and many owed it to the fact that he had turned into a political rival of the governor.
Though he has not officially declared his interest to run for the governor’s seat in the 2022 election, nor voiced intention to defend the Senate seat, many leaders and residents from across the county have publicly urged him to throw his hat in the race.
But Kindiki, a former law don at the Moi University, has not let the cat out of the bag on what his political plans are.
Muthuri reckons Kindiki’s national stature as a politician, prominent lawyer, and other accolades stand him in good stead, politically.
“By virtue of being the Senate Majority Leader and Deputy Speaker, in addition to the fact that he successfully oversees major businesses in that parliament, his name has grown even more. While it is true people are wondering why he has been keeping a low profile, they should know that his friends in the political arena prefer him to keep low. He should carry his own being what he has been all along- a quiet politician who is averse to political dramas other politicians love to perform when they take to the podium,” he said.
Kindiki himself kept his message concise but concise at the senate seating that culminated in his ouster as deputy speaker, not taking advantage of the proceedings that were broadcast live by the major television and radio stations.
“I forgive those who have crucified me,” said Kindiki, the son of a Methodist Church cleric.
This was after saying the charges against him were baseless.
Mr Kangáta said his motion was because Kindiki had refused to attend a Parliamentary Group convened by President Uhuru Kenyatta, a claim Kindiki dismissed as untrue as the meeting had not been communicated to him.
It does not bother me at all that the die is cast against me. What bothers me is that the Constitution of our country is once more being indecently assaulted in full glare. A handful of rogue fellow citizens have made it their orgy of pleasure to humiliate freedom and truth with reckless abandon with little patience for procedural dictates of our Constitution which would give the Constitution of our country some semblance of honor, even fake, cosmetic, or hypocritical honor,” he told the senators.
