Sunday May 28, 2023
Garissa County Woman Representative Udgoon Siyad has jumped into the defense of the newly appointed Director General of the National Intelligence Service (NIS) Noordin Haji saying he is competent enough to steer the spy agency to greater heights.
The Young Parliamentarians Vice Chairperson said Haji is most qualified and equal to the task as he did a splendid job as DPP and will make significant contribution to the security and welfare of Kenyans at his new posting.
“There are forces behind this and many other current events that is meant to profile the DPP and somalis as a community.DPP Noordin Haji enjoys a whopping 94% backing from Kenyans on the ongoing public prosecutions of corruption suspects and other offenders so this tells of his overwhelming scorecard and track record which speaks for itself ” she said.
His nomination continues to get support and condemnation from equal measure as various groups laud his appointment as others oppose it.
The Consortium of Grassroot Civil Society Organisations on Wednesday while presenting a petition to the Public Service Commission laid out 13 reasons why Haji is the right person for the position.
“We have enumerated his achievements for the period which he has been in office and it is our belief as people from the grassroots, that the DPP has been instrumental in providing leadership not only to the ODPP office but also to the nation as a whole,” the statement reads.
On Friday, Transparency International (TI) withdrew the 2019 Leadership Integrity Award awarded to him.
In a letter to Haji, TI cited the withdrawal of high-profile corruption cases by Haji, including those for which he was previously recognised, as one of the reasons the award was withdrawn.
The move was criticised by many among them lawyer and Senior Counsel Ahmednasir Abdullahi who exonerated Haji from claims of compromise saying the rule of the game during the time the cases were instituted, directives were given from the State House against perceived enemies.
“When hitherto credible institutions are captured by small minds and petty tribal interests that are consumed but Somali phobia and xenophobia…hate them or not! SOMALIS ARE HERE TO STAY!” he wrote on his Twitter handle.
Haji is expected to be vetted by Parliament’s Defence and Foreign Relations Committee after which the President will officially appoint him to the position.
Should he receive parliamentary approval, he will rejoin the spy agency, having previously served as the deputy director of the Counter Organised Crime Unit within NIS.