Eric Kiraithe: Commando who became Govt Spokesman

Erick Kiraithe hit news headlines after he was replaced as powerful government spokesman position.

Even then, little is known of the man who was a serious contender for the position of the Inspector General in 2012.

During President Mwai Kibaki’s regime, Eric Kiraithe was the face of the Police Force at difficult times including that testy period after the 2007 elections when Kenya was at the verge of collapse due to post-election violence.

His stint at the helm of Police service communication must have been the reason President Uhuru Kenyatta tapped him to be the official Government spokesman, moving him from the strategic position in charge of Kenya airports authority security.

Public communications are just one of the many things Mr Kiraithe knows. His National security credentials outshine his communication career.

He joined the police force as a constable. That was after he graduated with a Bachelors degree from the University of Nairobi, and later earned his way up to his current rank of Assistant Inspector General of Police.

Early in his policing career, the man from Maara, Tharaka Nithi, was trained as a commando before joining a minority elite squad of trained commandos in Kenya that undertook special classified missions.

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That and other skills have earned him a decent spot in the force throughout his career including being seconded for assignments out the police service.

Among the specialised assignments was his tenure as the Central bank of Kenya as Managing Director of Security, in charge of operations. He was picked for this sensitive job due to his training with the USA FBI at their academy Virginia as an anti-terrorism and counterfeit expert.

This is specialised training with few experts in the world.

Before becoming Government spokesman, Kiraithe served as General Manager, Operations, Safety and Security at the Kenya Airports Authority, in charge of keeping Airports safety.

That was ahead of the direct flights between Nairobi and New York when Jomo Kenyatta International Airport had to meet stringent security demands from the US.

Kiraithe has extensive training in National Security and public administration from USA, United Kingdom, Canada and Israel. He is among about 1,000 certified Security Managers by International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a United Nations Agency.

In addition, he is trained at the US Department of homeland security in public affairs management, at the FBI state police academy in Louisiana in Anti-terrorism.

Other training include National security and public safety in UK and specialised public safety training with the Israel Intelligence services.

Born in Kiriguni village around Kiriani in Maara, Eric Kibaara Kiraithe went to Kiriani Primary school, Chogoria boys for his O levels, Kitui high school and later graduated with his first degree at the University of Nairobi. He holds a Masters degree in Business administration as well as postgraduate Diplomas in the areas of Communication and public affairs from Kenya and the United Kingdom.

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