Elders in Garissa and Members of Parliament from North Eastern have come out to defend National Intelligence Service (NIS) boss Noordin Haji after Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua accused him of failing to give accurate briefs on anti-Finance Bill protests.
DP Rigathi's full speech on the protests, NIS
However, Northern Kenya elders and MPs have demanded that DP Gachagua resign or face impeachment for trying to destabilise the government.
Speaking at a press conference in Nairobi on Thursday, several MPs from the region said the DP's comments targeting the NIS Director-General would jeopardise the country’s security.
North Kenya leaders led by Member of Parliament for Dadaab Constituency Farah Maalim (centre) address journalists in Nairobi on June 27, 2024. They criticised Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua for his remarks on National Intelligence Service Director-General Noordin Haji.
Photo credit: Lucy Wanjiru | Nation Media Group
In a statement read by Dadaab MP Farah Maalim, the leaders demanded the resignation of the second in command.
“We call upon DP Gachagua to resign immediately. Let him resign from this administration and let him prepare himself for the 2027 election,” Mr Maalim said.
According to the MPs, the DP's decision to do a separate media address from Mombasa after the President did his own is a "clear indication that he is no longer part of government".
“The normal functioning of the government is that he should have been sitting next to his boss. But here he is, not protecting his government."
Ijara MP Abdi Ali said: “We know who you are and you are using the Finance Bill as a scapegoat...your intention is to fight our President.”
Mandera North MP Bashir Sheikh demanded that the DP does apologise for "undressing the NIS boss in public".
He noted that DP Gachagua sits in the National Security Advisory Council together with Mr Haji, thus he should have raised the matter privately and not in public.
Mandera East MP Hussein Weytan claimed the DP chose to attack the NIS boss publicly knowing that he will not retaliate.
The MPs were joined by East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) MP Hssan Omar and Nyaribari Chache MP Jhanda Zaheer who called for peace across the country, while asking the DP to preach peace.
“We want to ask DP Gachagua to respect the NIS boss. Noordin Haji wasn’t given this position because of political reasons. He deserves that position. The DP is aware of the channels he can use to sort his problems with him,” MP Zaheer said.
