Ole Lenku has demonstrated that he is woefully inept

It was the late George Saitoti, a one-time minister for Internal Security and Provincial Administration, who said: "There comes a time when the nation is more important than an individual" It is perhaps his most often quoted statement, and the one for which many Kenyans remember him. That statement is as true now as it was then.

It is very difficult to understand why the preservation of one individual's position in Government – never mind that he has more than once proved himself totally unable to handle his docket – is more important than the safety of a nation comprising more than 40 million people. Joseph ole Lenku, the Cabinet Secretary for Interior, has defiantly stated that he sees no reason why he should resign over the latest security debacle despite Kenyans saying – not for the first time – that he cannot, and should not, be allowed to do the job. But even more baffling is why his boss, President Uhuru Kenyatta, continues to keep him.