Kitui Governor Charity Ngilu’s political fame has not come easy as many people may think. The NARC party leader has walked through murky political waters to reach where she is today.
March 26, 2015, will remain a day for Governor Ngilu to remember. It is on this day that the vocal Kitui governor was named and shamed in President Uhuru Kenyatta’s ‘list of shame’.
As the then Lands, Housing and Urban Development Cabinet Secretary, Ngilu was among top government officials named in a corruption list forwarded to the president by the Ethics and Anti- Corruption Commission (EACC).
During his joint parliamentary address on March 26, 2015, President Kenyatta made the list public exposing several top government officials who had been named in various graft scandals and alleged theft of public resources.
Governor Ngilu was accused of allegedly instructing valueres from her ministry to inflate the value of Waititki Farm in Mombasa by Sh110 million to get a Sh65 million kickback once the farm was sold.
The ‘list of shame’ as it was known saw Ngilu and other top government officials among them former Transport CS Engineer Michael Kamau sacked.
Kamau, Ngilu, and others were then arrested and arraigned in court to answer to charges of corruption. As the cases went on, president Kenyatta vowed to fight corruption with all means.
This was happening as the opposition led by Raila Odinga criticized the Jubilee administration of tolerating graft.
Governor Ngilu fell-out with President Kenyatta after the sacking and being dragged to court and was later cleared off the corruption allegations and went on to contest for the Kitui seat.
In her 2017 campaigns, Ngilu castigated President Kenyatta’s government claiming that her sacking was based on malice.
However, Ngilu seems to have reconciled with President Kenyatta and has been quoted recently supporting his development agenda.
“I am keen on borrowing tips from President Kenyatta’s Big four development agenda for the development of Kitui county and service delivery to the people,” Ngilu said recently.
#historynow