Leaders from all over the country have given their reactions following the sad news of the demise of the late Major General Joseph Nkaissery who was the Cabinet Secretary for Interior and Coordination of National Government. The late Nkaissery died at Karen Hospital early Saturday morning after he was taken in sick. The cause of his death is still unknown, and President Uhuru Kenyatta has described him as a man who believed in his country, “He believed in the principles and the foundations on which the country was built and dedicated most of his life to serve the nation,” said President Kenyatta.
He said that he has lost a friend and a colleague, saying they had spent most of Friday praying for peace in the country at Uhuru Park, and later discussed issues related to peace late into the night. “He also spent time discussing Kenya’s preparations for the upcoming junior athletics,” he said and issued his condolences to Nkaissery’s family.
The President urged Kenyans from all political divides to mourn in peace and uphold the late Nkaissery’s mission of a peaceful and united Kenya, “I ask Kenyans to be calm and united as we wait for results of the post-mortem. His untimely death comes at a critical time in Kenya’s history as we approach the general elections,” he said.
He assured Kenyans that the nation is still secure and security forces are doing everything to ensure the nation’s borders and Kenyans are secure. As a result, he said that there can be no vacuum in the security docket, “I’ve taken the decision this morning to appoint Dr Fred Matiang’i as the acting Minister of Internal Security to ensure there is no vacuum.”
NASA Presidential candidate Raila Odinga said the late Nkaissery was a leader who used his knowledge and expertise to serve the country. He cited his love for small arms and sports as influential in his leadership, “As a member of parliament, he was a sportsman who followed the Lewa marathon on a yearly basis. He also liked small arms, and when he was assistant minister for internal security he served diligently,” said Raila Odinga. “In that regard, we all condole with his family, with members of his community and Kenyans for this loss,” he added.
Given the proximity of the general elections, the NASA leader noted that it’s a critical time in terms of security. He said he was shocked that an appointment was made even before condolence messages were issued, “What shocked me before sending messages of condolence they first appointed someone in an acting capacity,” he said. However, he noted that the government has the right to appoint whoever they want.
On his part, the leader of Majority Aden Duale said the country has lost a great leader, “It’s a sad day for our country because we’ve lost a great leader, politician, a technocrat who played a great role as he worked as a military officer. He served with us in parliament and served as the man in charge of securing our internal borders,” said Duale.
He said that he was with the late major general on Wednesday during Jubilee campaigns in Kajiado, saying it’s a sad day for the country. “We condole with his family, the people of Kajiado Central, Kajiado County, the pastoral communities and all people,” he said, adding that it’s a big loss as it comes at a time when he was preparing various security agencies to ensure peace prevails during the general elections.
Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero said he had worked closely with the late Cabinet Secretary to ensure Nairobi was well managed in terms of security, “Losing him is a loss to the country and our city. For the time he was in the interior ministry, I worked very closely with him in managing crime in the city. Through his efforts and initiatives, crime came down from an average of 2000 reported per month which is 70 reported crimes per day to 2 or 3 per day, he was very energetic, driven and very passionate,” he said.
The Governor said the news is very shocking given that they were together during the prayer meeting at Uhuru Park in Nairobi, “When I heard the news this morning I was shocked and was taken aback,” said Kidero.