A walk down the insecurity lanePresident Kibaki's January 16 removal of Brigadier (ret.) Boinett as head of Kenya's National Intelligence Service (NSIS) removes the USG's main ally in the counter-terror struggle and one of the few remaining true professionals at the highest level of the Kenyan Government. Boinett's replacement by an untested Brigadier Gichangi -- selected through a process that reeks of tribal cronyism and the use of all instruments of power to stay in power through (and beyond) the 2007 elections -- is anything but reassuring.
Boinett's farewell remarks January 17 to the NSIS rank and file received widespread press coverage. In a thoughtful and respectful speech, Boinett relayed what he called "five attributes of great consequence" for the managing and sustaining a robust intelligence service.
ONE: The government should continuously invest in "the character of their gatekeepers and its watchdogs."
TWO: The NSIS Director General "should have direct and unfettered access to the Head of State and Government. In order to earn trust, he has to do things right and the right thing without fear, favor or ill will. In so doing, he must be efficient, loyal and balanced."
THREE: "All men and women of the service must direct all their time and energy towards promoting and projecting that which only serves and informs the national interest.
FOUR: The Service should operate within the law."
FIVE: The Intelligence Service is a national insurance for counterintelligence. Yet a balance has to be struck between the national security interests and international threats and challenges. Information-sharing with other nation states has been the practice from time immemorial.
https://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/06NAIROBI258_a.html