Charity Kaluki Ngilu (born 28 January 1952) is a Kenyan politician and the second governor elected for Kitui County. She unsuccessfully vied to be President of the Republic of Kenya in 1997. She served as Minister for Health from 2003 until 2007 and Minister of Water and Irrigation from April 2008 to 2013. She also served as Cabinet Secretary for Land, Housing and Urban Development from 2013 until 2015. Charity Ngilu
Ngilu was born in Mbooni, Makueni District in 1952. She was educated at Alliance Girls High School, then worked as a secretary for Central Bank of Kenya, before becoming an entrepreneur. She acted as a director of a plastics extrusion factory.
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Charity Ngilu
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| 2nd County Governor of Kitui | |
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Incumbent
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| Assumed office 22 August 2017 |
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| Deputy | Dr. Wathe Nzau |
| Preceded by | Julius Malombe |
| Cabinet Secretary for Land, Housing and Urban Development | |
| In office 15 May 2013 – 29 March 2015 |
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| President | Uhuru Kenyatta |
| Minister of Water and Irrigation | |
| In office 17 April 2008 – 2013 |
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| President | Mwai Kibaki |
| Minister of Health | |
| In office 3 January 2003 – 6 October 2007 |
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| President | Mwai Kibaki |
| Member of Parliament for Kitui Central |
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| In office 29 December 1992 – 2013 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | 28 January 1952 Machakos, Kenya Colony |
| Nationality | Kenyan |
| Political party | NARC, Social Democratic Party |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | St. Paul’s University (BA) |
| Website | www |
Along with Joyce Laboso and Anne Waiguru, Ngilu is one of three women who became Kenya’s first female governors in 2017.
Charity Kaluki Ngilu is the current Kitui County Governor. She is one of the three women governors that were elected as governors in the 2017 General Election.
Ngilu’s political career spans three decades having first vied and won the Kitui central parliamentary seat in 1992.
In 1997, Ngilu and the late Prof. Wangari Maathai became the first women to vie in the presidential election losing to former President Daniel Arap Moi. She however retained her parliamentary seat.
Ngilu was part of the coalition that swept into power in the 2002 general election that propelled Mwai Kibaki to the presidency. She became the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC) chairperson and President Kibaki appointed her as Minister of Health in January 2003.
A fall out in the coalition saw Ngilu align herself with Raila Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement against Kibaki’s Party of National Unity, with the 2007 contentious general elections resulting in a government of national unity.
Ngilu launched the Kitui County Textile Centre (Kicotec), the first-ever garment factory by a County government in Kenya in 2019 producing uniforms, mats and napkins.
In April 2020, a month after the first case of Coronavirus was announced in Kenya, Kicotec was quickly repurposed to enable it to manufacture 30,000 face masks a day, providing a lifeline amid a global shortage of face masks
Political life
Ngilu was elected to represent the Kitui central constituency seat in 1992 on a Democratic Party ticket. She was reelected to the same seat and ran for president in the 1997 general election on a Social Democratic Party of Kenya ticket, finishing fifth behind the eventual winner, Daniel arap Moi. Along with Wangari Maathai, she became the first ever female presidential candidate in Kenya.
Later, she joined National Party of Kenya. In the December 2002 general election, her party was part of the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC). The coalition went on to win the elections, and President Mwai Kibaki appointed her as Minister of Health when he named his Cabinet on 3 January 2003. She was also appointed NARC chairperson.
Ngilu was seen as a new school member in the government, as opposed to old school members like John Michuki and President Kibaki. However, she was left stranded after the Liberal Democratic Party left the coalition after the defeat of the Government-sponsored draft constitution, while most of the remaining NARC members founded the new Narc-Kenya party led by Martha Karua.
On 5 October 2007, Ngilu announced her support for the Orange Democratic Movement and its presidential candidate, Raila Odinga, in the December 2007 general election; she has compared Odinga to Nelson Mandela.[4] She initially said that she was remaining in the government, despite backing Kibaki’s main rival. However, her dismissal from the government by Kibaki was announced on 6 October.
Ngilu was re-elected to her seat from Kitui Central in the December 2007 parliamentary election. Kibaki won the presidential election according to official results, but this was disputed by the ODM, and a violent crisis developed. The crisis was eventually resolved with a power-sharing agreement, and in the grand coalition Cabinet named on 13 April 2008 and sworn in on 17 April, Ngilu was appointed as Minister of Water and Irrigation.
Ngilu showed support for Raila Odinga in running for Presidential bid in Kenyan elections 2013.She later launched a presidential bid through her Narc Political Party, ultimately choosing to run for Kitui County senator and losing to David Musila in the process.
Following her failed bid, Ngilu was named Cabinet Secretary for Land, Housing and Urban Development by president Uhuru Kenyatta, but she resigned from the post following corruption allegations.
Kitui County Governor
Ngilu ran for governor of Kitui County in the 2017 general election, beating incumbent Julius Malombe and becoming one of three elected women governors.
Directives on Environmental Protection
Charity Ngilu’s tenure as Kitui County Governor began with controversial and otherwise popular decisions including banning sand harvesting and the burning and transportation of charcoal in the county. The directive according to Ngilu was in the interest of environment protection in the county.The ban on charcoal transportation brought about allegations of ethnic incitement. This resulted in the summoning and questioning of Ngilu by the National Cohesion and Integration Commission. Kiambu County Governor Ferdinand Waititu proceeded to sue Charity Ngilu for incitement. Ngilu’s move attracted defence from leaders in the lower eastern region of Kenya, also known as Ukambani. Ngilu secured a court order barring the police from arresting her over the charcoal row. Implementation of the charcoal transportation ban was problematic with allegations that Kitui County government officials were colluding with charcoal transporters to undermine Ngilu’s directive. The problem also attracted public opinion on how best to effect the ban.
Relationship with County Assembly
In the first two years of her tenure as Governor, Charity had a strained relationship with members of the Kitui County Assembly. In December 2018, Charity was accused of delaying the release of salaries to members of the County Assembly. Charity and members of the assembly were reported to develop an improving working relationship in 2019. Charity accused the assembly of unduly delaying the passing of a supplementary budget until May 2020 with one month remaining to the end of the financial year.
Troubled County Public Service Board Appointments
In the first half of 2020, her nominees to the County Public Service Board (CPSB) were rejected by the County Assembly. The term of the county’s first Public Service Board had expired in 2019. The rejection arose after what Charity Ngilu considered an unjustified delay that she blamed on the Assembly Speaker Mr. George Ndoto. Charity went on to blame the rejection of her nominees on what she considered interference in local politics by Kalonzo Musyoka, the Wiper Democratic Party leader.
The delayed appointment of members of the County Public Service Board was reported to hinder the hiring of extra healthcare workers to enhance the county’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
Law Society of Kenya Blacklist
On 16 January 2012 the Law Society of Kenya identified Ngilu as one of the public officials have been mentioned adversely in various reports on issues ranging from corruption to economic crimes. The society advised voters not to vote those mentioned in the report as they had previously compromised.
Censure motion 2013
In November 2013, the 11th Kenyan parliament debated about her conduct as the cabinet secretary for Land, Housing and Urban Development.The parliament was acting on recommendations by a special committee whose mandate was to investigate how she appointed a new director-general at her ministry without involving the parliament as provided for in the constitution of Kenya.
Personal life
Her husband, Michael Mwendwa Ngilu, died on 1 July 2006 in South Africa. Charity Ngilu has three children.
