As pressure mounts on President William Ruto to take decisive action against his cabinet members, Interior CS Kithure Kindiki has ruled out the possibility of resigning.
In the face of ongoing protests against the Finance Bill, 2024, and other government actions, Kindiki, who leads the critical Interior Ministry, stated that the idea of resigning has not crossed his mind.
In an interview with Citizen TV on Thursday, Kindiki asserted, “As to when I am resigning, that matter has not crossed my mind because I do not have a reason why I should resign. If for whatever reason I was convinced that I have done anything that warrants my resignation, I would happily do so.”
The anti-government protests have put senior state officials, including Cabinet Secretaries in Ruto’s administration, under intense scrutiny regarding their performance over nearly two years in office. Civil society groups, opinion leaders, and religious organizations have called on the President to reshuffle his cabinet in line with public expectations, urging the dismissal of underperforming CSs.
Despite the calls for a cabinet reshuffle, Kindiki has been consistently ranked as the best-performing Cabinet Secretary in various opinion polls. A survey by InfoTrak, released on June 10, ranked Kindiki as the top CS, scoring a B grade with 60 percent for addressing issues affecting Kenyans. Aden Duale (Defence) came third with 50 percent, while Eliud Owalo and Soipan Tuya tied with 49 percent.
The survey highlighted Kindiki’s strengths in communication, competency, and service delivery. He topped in communication with a 61 percent score, closely followed by CSs Ababu Namwamba and Aden Duale, who scored 52 percent and 51 percent, respectively. In terms of competency, Kindiki scored 60 percent, with Namwamba and Duale scoring 52 percent and 50 percent, respectively. On success in improving ministry operations, Kindiki again led with a 61 percent score, while Namwamba scored 52 percent.
During a roundtable meeting with the media at State House on Sunday, President Ruto acknowledged that his Cabinet could have performed better in supporting his leadership efforts.
