John Michuki
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John Njoroge Michuki (1932 - ) is the Kenyan internal security minister. He is a MP from the Kangema constituency. He was born in 1932 at Iyego, Kangema, in Muranga District. He completed his ‘A’ Levels at the Mang’u High School, where he also met the present-day president, Mwai Kibaki. Later Michuki studied administration and finance at Worcester College, Oxford, UK. From 1970 to 1979 he was the chairman of the Kenya Commercial Bank. From 1983 onwards he was a KANU MP and held various assistant ministerial positions.
For the December 2002 elections he joined the successful National Rainbow Coalition. He was appointed as the Minister of Transport and Communications. His tenure is best remembered for the tough Michuki Rules which stated that all matatus and buses in Kenya had to install speed governors and passenger safety belts. When these rules came into effect in February 2004, Kenya was faced with a traffic chaos due to lack of competent vehicles.
In the December 2005 cabinet reshuffle he was appointed as the internal security minister. He ordered the raid on The Standard newspaper and the KTN television station in March 2006. This action was widely condemned by Kenyan and international press and diplomats. It has been claimed that the Government hired mercenaries to carry out the raid, but the Government has denied it arguing that by definition Mercenaries are soldiers who are hired to over-throw a government not raid Media houses.
