Noordin Haji is the current Director-General of the National Intelligence Service (DGNIS). Before this, he served as the Director of Public Prosecutions. The embattled DGNIS was born in Garissa County but raised in different counties across the country due to the nature of his father’s job.
Mr. Haji is from a polygamous family-they are nine (one deceased) siblings. In an interview he granted a local daily, he describes his father as a disciplinarian and his mother as strict.
These attributes from his parents did not only instil good character in Mr. Haji but also helped him build strong self-control and helped shape up the man he is today. Haji remains to be a very private individual despite his national and global exposure.
He does not drink or go to clubs in his free time. He finds it more relaxing to read a book. According to B.R. Ambedkar from the Annihilation of Caste, he describes what an ideal leader should be and which relates to Noordin;
“While I am prepared to bear with the imperfections and shortcomings of the society in which I may be destined to labour, I feel I should not consent to live in a society which cherishes wrong ideals, or a society which, having right ideals, will not consent to bring its social life into conformity with those ideals.”
Age
Noordin Haji was born on July 3rd, 1973.
Tribe
Noordin Haji is a Kenyan Somali from the Ogaden clan.
Family
The 51 year old had a privileged upbringing thanks to his father Mohamed Yusuf Haji who was the Garissa Senator. The senior Haji was Kenya’s Minister of Defence from 2008 to 2013 and doubled as Minister of Internal Security and Provincial Affairs in 2012 in an acting capacity.
Yusuf served as a public administrator in the 70s and late 90s before he plunged into politics. Noordin’s mother was a teacher. The Garissa Senator rubbished claims that he had played a role in the appointment of his son as DPP.
“That is rubbish…how many Kenyans have been appointed to that position? Was it because of their fathers?” He told KTN News.
He went on to say he feared for his son’s life given that his appointment would come with many enemies.
“We are very proud, but at the same time we are a bit worried because the work he is doing for his country will raise many enemies…”
Interesting, Haji who is a Muslim, served as an altar boy when he was in a Catholic school in Nyahururu. He has however clarified that he remains a strict Muslim although he studied in Christian institutions.
The former DPP is married and has children although he has kept them out of the public limelight.
Education
After completing primary school, Haji joined Kabarak High School for his secondary studies and then went to Greensteds International School in Nakuru.
Mr. Noordin Haji holds an LLM and LLB from the University of Wales and Cardiff. He has an MNSPO (Masters Degree in National Security Policy) with merit from Australian National University. Also, he holds a post-graduate diploma from the Kenya School of law.
Career
His first job in the public service was as a State Counsel at the Attorney General Office in 2000. His career has been shaped up in the Attorney General’s office, where he worked for many years as a deputy director of the National Intelligence Service (NIS). His responsibilities included providing legal counsel to the Inspector General of Police, the Director of Criminal Investigations, the Director-General NIS, and other Non-Law enforcement agencies.
After undergoing thorough scrutiny by the Public Service Commission (PSC) and vetting by the National Assembly, he was seen fit to hold the position of the DPP (Director of Public Prosecutions).
Haji was then appointed later by former President Uhuru Kenyatta as the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in March 2018. He has worked tirelessly to improve coordination and enhance inter-agency collaboration in fighting crime.
As at the time of writing this article, Mr. Noordin Haji oversees high profile corruption investigations and prosecutions in Kenya.
National Intelligence Service Boss
His career was on an upward trajectory. Shortly after President William Ruto the leadership mantle from his predecessor Uhuru Kenyatta, he nominated Haji as NIS boss. He was approved by the National Assembly and sworn in on 14 June 2023.
Controversies
The NIS boss has been accused in a number of abductions and disappearances in the wake of the Gen-Z protests that engulfed the country in July 2024. He was mentioned by CS Justin Muturi as having orchestrated the abduction of his son. The CS said it took the intervention of the president to have his son released.
