Murkomen, top intelligence officials at book launch of ex-spy boss Brig Boinett

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen led top government officials in attending the launch of a book authored by former spy chief Brigadier (Rtd) Wilson Boinett.

Among those in attendance was the Director General of National Intelligence Service Noordin Haji, his predecessor Philip Kameru, Michael Gichangi and other middle level personnel.

Murkomen said Boinett had an illustrious career in the military before being tapped to head the country’s intelligence agency.

Boinett’s memoir is titled Fixing Spy Craft To Serve National Interests in Kenya: From the Colonial Special Branch To a Civilian National Intelligence Service.

In the book, Brigadier Boinett expertly narrates his efforts to transform the colonial-era Special Branch into a professional civilian service dubbed the National Security Intelligence Service (NSIS).

The reforms he spearheaded shaped the current National Intelligence Service (NIS).

“I congratulate Brigadier Boinett for taking the time to bequeath his vast wealth of knowledge to current and future generations of security and intelligence practitioners as well as the general public,” said Murkomen.

Speakers at the event at a Nairobi hotel on Thursday July 3 praised Boinett for his service to the country at large.

Boinett was in charge of the now NIS when it transformed from Special Branch to National Security Intelligence Service (NSIS). It later changed to NIS under the 2010 Constitution.

The book will be available at various bookshops.