10 things to know about the late Nkaissery
Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaissery, who passed on at a Nairobi hospital in the wee hours on Saturday morning was a highly regarded political figure.
The retired Major General served an as opposition MP (Kajiado Central) before being appointed the cabinet secretary by President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2014.
Here are 10 things to know about the late Nkaissery.
1. He was born in November 28 1949 (65 years ago) and served in the army since 1973. In 1987 he was appointed the Military Assistant to the Chief of General Staff.
2. He was in the pioneer education class (B. Ed) at the Kenyatta College, now Kenyatta University in 1971 but dropped out after one year of studying.
3. His last job in the army before retiring was as a commandant of the Armed Forces Training College and GOC Westcom. He retired in December 2002 after 29 years of service.
4. He held the parliamentary seat for Kajiado Central from 2003 when he trounced David Sankori of Kanu to 2014 when he was appointed the Cabinet Secretary for Interior and Coordination of National Government.
5. In 2009, he was part of the William Ntimama – led group that was opposed to a deal between the government and Rift Valley leaders for Mau evictees to be compensated. They called for their immediate eviction to save the country from environmental degradation.
6. In 2010, he told parliament that two Kenyan soldiers, Senior Sergeant Jonathan Kipkosgei Kangogo and Corporal Evan Mutoro, had been captured in Somalia on July 24. This was before Kenya Defense Forces went into Somalia.
7. It was during his tenure as Assistant Minister in the Ministry of Defence that Kenya Defence Forces invaded Somalia and in 2011 the Operation Linda Nchi launched. Kenya signed agreement with Somali’s defence ministry for collaboration in the fight against Al-Shabaab.
8. In November 2010, along with Defence Minister Yusuf Hajj, fellow assistant David Musila and Military head Julius Karangi appeared before a parliamentary committee on a controversy over the purchase of used Air Force jets from Jordan.
9. While doubling as an assistant minister and MP, he always attended parliament sittings and was at one point lauded while other ministers and their assistants were blacklisted for failing to respond to scheduled questions.
10. Nkaissery formally took over his new role as the Cabinet Secretary for Interior and Coordination of National Government on Christmas eve of 2014 to become the forth politician in the Jubilee cabinet.
