The CS died at Karen Hospital on Saturday morning after being admitted for check up, according to State House.
“It is with deep sorrow and shock that we announce the sudden passing on of Interior CS Retired General Joseph Nkaissery,” said Joseph Kinyua, the Chief of Staff and Head of Public Service who issued a statement.
“He passed on after being admitted for a check-up,” he added, “The country to be updated as more information becomes available.”
There were no immediate details on the cause of his death.
His last public function was on Friday when he accompanied President Uhuru Kenyatta to Uhuru Park for Saba Saba prayers before holding a series of meetings at his Harambee House office, according to officials privy to his itinerary.
Several Cabinet Secretaries and other top government officials were among those who rushed to the Karen Hospital soon after the announcement—including Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinnet and CID boss Ndegwa Muhoro.
“It is unfortunate that we have lost the CS,” Muhoro told Capital FM News on telephone, “our prayers are with his family.”
Nkaissery’s death, coming exactly a month to the General Election set for August 8, is a big blow to the nation due to the critical role he was playing in strategizing with top security chiefs to ensure a peaceful election.
State House Spokesman Manoah Esipisu said, “It is very sad indeed, the CS is dead.”
Nkaissery was a Member of Parliament until 2014 when he resigned to take up President Uhuru Kenyatta’s appointment as Interior Cabinet Secretary to replace Joseph Ole Lenku who was unceremoniously dismissed in the wake of increased insecurity in the country.
He joined politics in 2002 when he retired from the military at the rank of Major General, having served for 29 years.
He was then elected Member of Parliament in 2007, and was later appointed Assistant Minister for Internal Security by former President Mwai Kibaki in 2008-2013.
He was elected to Parliament on an Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), before he fell out with the party leader Raila Odinga, when he joined President Kenyatta’s government.
