Are Those Opposed To Haji’s Nomination Stands A Chance Of Blocking His Appointment?
Director of Public Prosecution Nordin Haji
By: Joseph Mutua Ndonga
Worth Noting:
- I have been listening to those opposing Haji’s nomination and it is not surprising to note that this campaign is being spearheaded by allies of former President Uhuru Kenyatta and opposition Azimio leader Raila Odinga.
- The rain started beating Haji in the countdown to 2022. This is after the outgoing President’s bid to rally him behind the candidature of his handshake partner Raila Odinga failed to be bear fruits.
- Haji reportedly refused to play the ball and, as a result, he becomes a marked man.
- The allies and bloggers supporting the duo started a smear campaign against him, peddling all manner of propaganda that he was pushing the political agenda of the deputy President William Ruto.
A few days ago, President William Ruto nominated the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Nordin Haji to replace Wachira Kameru as the Director-General of National Security Intelligence (NIS).
This development came at a time when the term of the office for each of the two top-notch government officials had come to end.
The President opted to elevate Haji to serve in the same state organ he had earlier served as the deputy director-General before former President Uhuru Kenyatta appointed him as DPP.
Haji is now waiting to be vetted by parliament and, if approved, he will work and interact very closely with the president.
The work of the spy master is to gather information and brief the head of state about the situation on the ground, particularly on matters touching on national security.
I have been listening to those opposing Haji’s nomination and it is not surprising to note that this campaign is being spearheaded by allies of former President Uhuru Kenyatta and opposition Azimio leader Raila Odinga.
The rain started beating Haji in the countdown to 2022. This is after the outgoing President’s bid to rally him behind the candidature of his handshake partner Raila Odinga failed to be bear fruits.
Haji reportedly refused to play the ball and, as a result, he becomes a marked man.
The allies and bloggers supporting the duo started a smear campaign against him, peddling all manner of propaganda that he was pushing the political agenda of the deputy President William Ruto.
In trying to justify this, they cited corruption cases facing the allies of Dr Ruto. Haji’s work as the top prosecutor left a lot to be desired.
A number of high profile personalities have been let off-the-hook. This is after he bungled their cases, they further allege.
Allow me to repeat this again. The anger emanated from the fact he had refused to do the duo’s political work.
The files of those who were considered to be enemies of the ‘Handshake’ regime were forwarded to him. He would be asked to act on them immediately.
The evidence submitted would be weak and wobbling. So, he would end up losing most of these cases.
To avoid more embarrassments, he would resort to withdrawing some cases.
Those associated with corruption but were supporting the ‘handshake’ was untouchables.
This bias, the perceived selective application of the law and weaponization of graft war would be cited as the gravest mistake made by President Uhuru.
Kenyans no longer trusted him. This is despite talking tough about his commitment to ‘slay the dragon of corruption’.
First forward to Ruto presidency, the allies of the ‘Handshake’ duo have renewed onslaught against DPP Haji.
They have been reading a similar script.
The only difference this time is that their boss, former president, is no longer in power.
Listen to this. Haji is unfit to be become the spy master because he had to resorted to withdrawing high corruption cases.
They want Kenyans to believe that he was following the instructions of President.
They were yet to produce tangible evidence to support these claims.
For DPP, he always explained himself.
I resorted to this after the police failed to furnish my office with sufficient evidence.
In some instances, the witnesses they had lined up chickened out.
My office had no power to force them to testify. It is also not involved in conducting investigations.
Given this background, I doubt the anti-Haji campaigners would have their way.
President Ruto’s nominee enjoys another advantage. The parliament is dominated by members of ruling Kenya Kwanza.
You would not expect them to embarrass or defy the wish of tier leader.
Ruto knows the job of Spy master is critical. So he cannot take any chance.
The other day he appointed Military Gen Francis Ogolla to be the Chief of Kenya Defense Forces (KDF).
This is because he had chequered career of being a professional soldier and committed to work. I’m sure the same considerations drove him to nominate Haji who had earlier served as the deputy spy master.
President Uhuru had looked at his credentials when he appointed the DPP. He was convinced he would do a good job.
Finally, allow me to say this. If the allies of Raila and Uhuru were sincere, I would have expected them to fault Haji for withdrawing the criminal charges he had filed against some Azimio supporters.
The supporters had been arrested for being armed and engaging in acts of violence during the demonstrations organized by the coalition.
Even if they believed they were innocent, they should have reprimanded Haji for terminating the cases before going through the full hearings.
Joseph Mutua Ndonga is a writer and political analyst based in Nairobi
Similar Posts by The Mt Kenya Times:
- Mt Kenya Times ePAPER August 27, 2026
- Opposition will have a candidate by April, says Gachagua
- Kalonzo takes his campaign to the people across three counties
- Kenya’s election technology tender: A KSh10B procurement under fire
- The goon question: What Ruto’s vow to act personally really means for Kenya
About the Author
