The Public Service Commission (PSC) has appointed a technical committee to recommend the terms and conditions of service for officers and other staff of the National Intelligence and Research University (NIRU).
Via a gazette notice published on December 13, the PSC, through its chair, Ambassador Anthony Muchiri, the committee is set to be composed of five members, a chairperson, and three joint secretaries that will play a significant role in the realisation of the recently chartered university.
The committee is set to be chaired by Lawrence Kiti Nyalle with Joan Andisi, John Gitu, Halima Abdi, Wilson Kiptanui, Wangari Wachira, and Sammy Wakiaga as members. Additionally, David Karanja, Judy Thuguri, and Michael Ogosso are set to serve as the joint secretaries.
The committee begins work immediately and will serve for three months till March 15, 2025, when they will complete their duties. After finishing their work, the committee will report to the PSC and submit a report.
President William Ruto(left) and the National Intelligence Service Director General Nordin Haji during the award of a charter to the National Intelligence and Research University(NIRU) at State House, Nairobi on November 5,2024.
State House
The formation of the committee comes a month after the formal establishment of the university on Tuesday, November 5—the first of its kind as it is set to be run by the National Intelligence Service (NIS). The move to create the task force is seemingly aimed at ensuring the university functions cohesively as one unit.
However, the journey towards forming the university has been a long one, beginning as a postgraduate diploma in security and strategy studies at the University of Nairobi in the early 2000s. The course was later upgraded to a Masters program.
In 2016, the program saw a massive proliferation of students, causing a backlog of students who had not graduated but had completed their studies.
During the awarding of the charter at State House, NIRU Vice Chancellor Dr James Kibon recounted that this and the influx of intelligence studies programs in the UK, US, and other areas but not in Africa sparked the need for an African voice.
In 2019, a technical committee to work on the establishment of a university, comprising technical experts from the industry and academicians, was formed to develop proposed programmes for the university and work on the accreditation of the university.
After intensive stakeholder engagement, the institution was then formed with a focus on intelligence studies and research on complex security threats to protect national and regional interests in Kenya and across borders.
Initially, NIRU was a constituent college of the National Defence University (NDU) but was later split from the NDU to be run on its own. To that effect, NIRU was mandated to oversee the running of other constituent colleges, including the Kenya Military Academy based in Lanet, Nakuru, the Joint Command and Staff College, the International Peace and Support Training Center in Embakasi, and the Defence Forces Technical College.
Additionally, the campus will set its sights on establishing a leading intelligence training and action-oriented research institution regionally and beyond for its learners and is expected to revitalise security-related training in Kenya.
Kenya has been on a path to revolutionise its security and intelligence operations through the establishment of key vital security installations and training for its security staff.
The National Intelligence and Research University(NIRUC).
NIRUC