Podcasts
SpyCast
Ep 601
SpyCast 9.5.23
Ep 601 | 9.5.23

“Kenya, East Africa, and America” – with African Intelligence Chief Wilson Boinett

Show Notes
Transcript

Summary

Brigadier General (Ret.) Wilson Boinett joins Andrew (Twitter; LinkedIn) to discuss Kenyan intelligence. Wilson is the former Director of Kenya’s National Intelligence Service. 

What You’ll Learn

Intelligence

  • The effect of colonialism on intelligence
  • The organization of Kenya’s National Intelligence Service
  • Wilson’s role in adapting and reforming Kenyan intelligence 
  • The Nairobi bombings and effects on East Africa

Reflections

  • Institutional insurgency
  • The courage to push for and enact change

And much, much more …

Episode Notes

This week on SpyCast, we are thrilled to be joined by our first ever African intelligence chief. Brigadier General (Ret.) Wilson Boinett is the individual credited with transforming Kenya’s National Intelligence Service into the world-class agency it is today. Following a decades long career in the Kenyan Army, Wilson became the first Director of the newly created intelligence agency in 1999. He believed in the possibly of change and the potential for collaboration amongst East African countries and set out to do just that. Tune in to this week’s episode to learn more about his extraordinary career and lessons in leadership. 

This episode is the second in our Spy Chiefs Special series that will run throughout September. Stay tuned in the weeks to come to hear perspectives from Ireland, India, and the first woman to direct an American intelligence organization. 

And… 

Wilson is a member of the National Defense University International Fellows Hall of Fame, Class of 1991. This prestigious award honors NDU alumni who have achieved the highest ranks of armed forces or government and made a great impact on their country’s national security. It’s safe to say Wilson has more than earned his spot! And, he is in good company – one of our recent SpyCast alumni, Admiral Hernando Wills, Class of 2008. 

Quotes of the Week

I was coming in at the time when all those things were happening and the Cold War was over, and the western intelligence did not care very much what Kenya was going to do. So, I had an opportunity to look at this monster called change …. I went to the president, and I said, “I think it is time to change.” And he said, “Go change it.”  

Resources 

SURFACE SKIM

*SpyCasts*

*Beginner Resources*

DEEPER DIVE

Books

  • History of Resistance in Kenya, M. wa Kĩnyattĩ (Mau Mau Research Center, 2019)
  • Kenya After 50: Reconfiguring Historical, Political, and Policy Milestones, M. M. Kithinji et al. (Palgrave Macmillan, 2016) 
  • Population, Tradition, and Environmental Control in Colonial Kenya, M. S. Shanguhyia (University of Rochester Press, 2015)
  • Kenya: A History Since Independence, C. Hornsby (I.B. Tauris, 2013)

Articles

Video

Primary Sources 

*Wildcard Resource*

SpyCast
Podcast Info
HOST(S):
Andrew Hammond
Erin Dietrick
Andrew Hammond, Ph.D. is Historian & Curator at the International Spy Museum, home of the world's preeminent collection of intelligence-related artifacts. Previous chapters have included seven years in the RAF, Public Humanities at the 9/11 Museum in NYC, Fellowships here, there, and everywhere, and academia. He is author of the forthcoming book: "Struggles for Freedom": Afghanistan & US Foreign Policy Since 1979. He loves bialys.
Erin Dietrick is the Programs & Podcast Assistant at the International Spy Museum. Erin is a Cleveland native and graduate of the University of Rochester in Rochester, NY, where she studied history. Currently gaining her MA in Museum Studies from the George Washington University, Erin is passionate about storytelling, inspiring critical thinking, and inciting joy through museum programming. She has a special place in her heart for music history and named her orange cat Ringo after Ringo Starr.
Schedule: Tuesdays, 7am EST (weekly)
Credits: SPY: Mike Mincey and Memphis Vaughn III, Co-Producers; Emily Rens and Emily Coletta, Graphics; Afua Anokwa and Ariel Samuel, Social Media; Erin Dietrick, Researcher, Scheduler, Editor, Co-Producer, Social Media; Andrew Hammond, Writer, Editor-in-Chief, Executive Producer. CYBERWIRE: Elliott Peltzman, Sound Design; Elliott Peltzman and Tré Hester, mixing; Jen Eiben, Co-producer, Social Media; SpyCast opening music: Wayne Jones, “Cypher” (2018).
Creator: International Spy Museum
SpyCast