Who is Kipkemoi Kirui?

I first met Mr Kipkemoi arap Kirui in 1987 when we were both students at Kapsabet Boys High School, in the then larger Nandi District located to the west of Kenya’s Rift Valley.

Kirui in asylum

He was my senior in ‘A’ level, quiet, unassuming and down to earth. We both struck a cordial though not very close friendship.

Our Sabbath fellowships together at the physical science laboratory, which became our chapel every Friday evening and Saturday morning, drew us close. It led to a friendship that survived many long gaps in between.

We shared a common heritage — coming from a humble rural background, and as first-born boys in a typical African family, the weight of responsibility. We resolved not only to excel in school but also to set a good example for our siblings.

This responsibility instilled in us a strong sense of purpose, ambition, drive, discipline and self-sacrifice.

Little did I know that after completion of his ‘A’ level studies two years later, I would not see or hear from him again until more than 10 years later.

Although Kirui was never admitted to a local university, he was an ambitious young man. Soon he found his way and enrolled for a law degree at Bangalore University in India in 1991.

His defining moment came when he met a member of the state legislative assembly and an advocate who became a mentor and introduced him to legislative law.

Mr M V Rajashekaran had a profoundly significant influence in his career choice after graduation two years later in 1996. While working as an intern at Rajashekaran’s office, he was struck by how the Indian state legislatures worked.

He describes it as "quite efficient and democratic, with high quality staffing and facilities and good working conditions".

It was then that he decided to focus more on legislative work as opposed to the core legal stuff of his training.

Upon his return to Kenya in 1998, Kirui embarked on a journey that would see him rise quickly as a well respected and accomplished parliamentary official and perhaps one of the few experts with the most detailed and thorough grasp of parliamentary rules and procedure in Kenya.

While at the Kenya School of Law, he became interested in the research capacity of Members of Parliament and sought to find out whether Parliament provided resources and research capability for MPs to do their work effectively.

He then sought a research permit from the Office of the President to study the Kenyan Parliament.

This was an unusual request at the time since no member of the public, not even former MPs, were allowed into the parliamentary library.

It quickly became clear to Kirui that there was, at the time, a serious lacuna. Through this, he also decided to work as a parliamentary commentator for the Kenya Times.

In 2000, he started a parliamentary political talk show on Kenya Broadcasting Corporation TV.

Parliamentary activities

"At the time it was very difficult to have MPs appear on shows," Kirui admits.

"I convinced then Information minister, Mr Joseph Nyagah, that it was possible to have a TV show with politicians coming in to talk about what’s going on in Parliament," he says.

This was a significant historical moment in the country’s political process. The country was gearing itself for the decisive 2002 elections. Civil society involvement in the political process was at its peak.

Kirui’s passion for bridging the gap between parliamentary processes and the public found fertile ground. He started supporting civil society organisations, and donor agencies involved in electoral, governance and legislative issues. He worked with such organisations as the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung and USAID, among others.

After the 2002 elections, Kirui turned his attention to consulting for interest groups and stakeholders in lobbying Parliament for specific Bills before the House.

"Many of them would like to understand the implications of the legislation, participate in the law making process and lobby to ensure their interests are protected," Kirui says.

As his involvement in parliamentary procedures deepened and his involvement with a cross section of influential sections of society widened, so did he steadily gain respect from all interested parties in the parliamentary process.

Kirui contributed in varying degrees to some of the landmark Bills that later became key pieces of legislation. These include; the Central Bank of Kenya Amendment Bill (Donde Bill), the Industrial Property Bill on issues relating to access to essential medicines and the Tobacco Control Bill.

He also worked with the Association of Kenya Insurers and other stakeholders.

"Through all this, my experience was to ask: Do we have sufficient capacity for the public to get to know what law is being enacted?"

He says: "I believe in public participation in law making. I do not believe that people just assume that MPs should carry out house processes without consultation or reference to the public," he asserts.

It was in recognition of his expert knowledge of parliamentary procedure, his dedication and unparalleled commitment to the legislative process that in 2003, the Parliamentary Services Commission (PSC) invited him to apply for a position as a fulltime member of staff. It was Mr Oloo Aringo, the architect of PSC, who invited him.

Although at the time Kirui had just been appointed to a lucrative position as deputy country director for a USAID parliamentary assistance programme run by the State University of New York, he chose the less glamorous path to join the public service as a clerk of Parliament.

Tallying supervisor

"I abandoned the USAID project and with it a very lucrative job, but I have never regretted my decision," he says.

Owing to his extensive experience, determination and strong work ethic, he quickly rose through the ranks to become the first staff member in the history of Parliament to be posted to the chamber before confirmation.

While probation in the civil service takes two years, and promotion to the chamber — a process called ‘robbing’ in Parliament — takes up to 10 years for other staff, Kirui was ‘robbed’ within a year.

It was his secondment to the ECK as a tallying supervisor that set the stage that propelled Kirui to the centre of the intrigue that bedevilled the critical final steps of the electoral process in Kenya.

At the time of this interview, Kirui was wrapping up the final papers for his course. He still fears for his life and is not assured that he can be guaranteed adequate security in Kenya.

His informants in the police force and NSIS maintain that his life is still in danger. Contrary to popular opinion, the opposition leadership was not involved in his flight and had no idea of his whereabouts weeks after his departure.

"I could not rely on protection from politicians. I didn’t go public because of politicians. It was my conscience. Who would assure me of my security in Nairobi?" He poses.

"The Government has no control over security. Two MPs were killed like dogs in the streets, who am I to survive?" He asks.

Asked about the Witness Protection Act that was passed during his time as clerk at the national assembly, Kirui dismisses it as one of the weakest legislations ever passed by Parliament.

He says it was watered down by MPs, who through their selfish and short-sighted considerations to protecting themselves, failed the nation yet again.

The Independent Review Committee on the election debacle would have to do without his testimony, at least in person, unless they are able to arrange a videoconference, or accept a signed statement from him.

About his future, Kirui says he will not depart from his career in legislative issues, but wants to continue doing rigorous research, publishing and building a critical body of knowledge that he thinks is needed to improve legislative processes in Africa and particularly in Eastern Africa.

That will be his contribution for the foreseeable future, but for now, Kenya’s Parliament will have to do without his skills and expertise at a time when perhaps it needs them most.