Five policy blunders new spy boss must undo

The departure of Maj-Gen Michael Gichangi as Director-General of the National Intelligence Service did not surprise many. It was, in fact, long overdue.

For the past year, it was an open secret that Gichangi had lost the trust and confidence of the President; he was loathed and ridiculed by ordinary Kenyans, despised by the political class, and reviled by the top echelons of the security organs.

Gichangi was justifiably seen by these groups as incompetence personified! He cut the figure of a wretched persona, a tortured soul suffering the corrosive effects of personal failures and deep but hurtful human imperfections.

The nomination of Maj-Gen Philip Kameru must be welcomed if only to relieve suffering Kenyans from the painful comedy of errors that Gichangi was.

It is humanly impossible for Kameru to do worse than Gichangi, who set the bar so low that Kameru can only improve on that abject standard set by his predecessor.

Kameru has his plate full. From what I hear, he is a man with solid credentials. Here, I am not even referring to his education.

His steady progress in the army, his strong and independent personality, coupled with the relevant work experience, means Kameru is cut out for the job.

But there are five policy mistakes Gichangi has institutionalised that Kameru must reverse.

TARGETED KILLING

First, Kameru must end the government’s policy of extra-judicial killings. The targeted killing of Muslim clerics from the Coast must stop.

Human Rights Watch has just released a damning report on this extra-judicial policy of the Kenya Government.

Gichangi also saw the Somali people and Muslims at the Coast as posing a mortal threat to national security. His personal views and paranoia shaped the government’s attitude towards Muslims.

Second, Kameru should keep the intelligence community away from party politics. Playing god in party politics was Gichangi’s favourite pastime.

The era when our national intelligence spent considerable time and resources on local party politics must come to an end. It is not the business of intelligence to determine which party will rule the country.

POLICY DOCUMENT

Third, Kameru must draw a new policy document on emerging security threats facing the country. This needs deep thinking, reflections and a strategic shift in policy on these troubling threats to national security.

Here, I give him just three threats that are twinkling on the horizon.

One is the militarisation of sensitive organs of the government. I hope Kameru can see this threat despite his military background.

The Kenyan military is highly disciplined and well-respected. Kenyans are, indeed, proud of their men and women in uniform. But President Uhuru Kenyatta is fishing in troubled waters.

Governments all over the world appoint retired generals to diplomatic and other strategic posts. But it is a different ball game to appoint serving military officers in positions at the heart of the civil service.

Poverty and the disparity between the rich and poor is another security threat to the wellbeing of Kenyans. The need to address the excruciating pain of poverty for most Kenyans should preoccupy Kameru.

Tribalism and corruption pose a great security threat. Some Kenyans get jobs while others are denied just because of their tribe. Kameru must bring new thinking on how to address these great threats to national security.

TRANSPARENCY

Four, Kenyans want to see financial transparency in the spy agency. Gichangi has made the intelligence service opaque and unaccountable.

With a budget of over Sh14 billion, Kenyans are entitled to know how such a huge amount of money is spent. Kameru must bring financial dealings at the agency under the public eye.

Five, Kameru must redefine intelligence gathering and professionalise the agency.

Under Gichangi, intelligence was simply the state of mind of a given officer on a given day. It was not uncommon for officers to come up with ridiculous, false and malicious reports.

In fact, under Gichangi, rumour mongering became a treasured science of intelligence manufacturing. Kameru must go back to the basics.

Senior Counsel Ahmednasir Abdullahi is the publisher, Nairobi Law Monthly [email protected]