Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has demanded the resignation of National Intelligence Service (NIS) Director General Noordin Haji, citing incompetence and failure to prevent recent anti-government protests. Speaking in Mombasa on Wednesday, Gachagua criticized the NIS for not adequately informing President William Ruto about public discontent before demonstrations erupted.
Despite President Ruto’s withdrawal of the controversial Finance Bill 2024 following nationwide protests, Gachagua argued that the NIS failed in its duty to alert the president to the public’s stance on the bill. He labeled the last-minute decision to recall the bill as “embarrassing” for the Kenya Kwanza government and attributed the unrest, which led to deaths and destruction, to Haji’s lack of effective leadership.
Gachagua claimed Haji’s incompetence began with his appointment, alleging that an inferiority complex led him to remove experienced senior officers from the NIS, weakening the agency. He further accused Haji of being frequently absent from the country on business trips, rendering him out of touch with national affairs.
The deputy president called on President Ruto to restore the dismissed NIS senior officers to rebuild the agency’s capacity and urged Haji to take responsibility for the recent violence by resigning.